Chapter 1: Chapter 1
Chapter Text
On a bright new day early in the morning, an eager scientist with child like gleam was seen slinking into a room keys jiggling as he open the door to the lab. Keys that were usually handed back to the teachers or the office staff. There was one exception to that rule, an eccentric teenager named Senku Ishigami ,the president of the Science club. Dubbed as a genius scientist or a mad man with a pension for explosions depending on who you are asking. He flipped the light switch on and started rummaging through the storage of the science club room, one hand holding on to a bag filled with bottle caps.
He dropped the bag of plastic caps on the table, and went to get the new synthesizer he bought by bullying the student council. Technically he won the money in the competition so its only logical that he gets to decide what to buy with it. He started assembling the components with surgical precision and started loading in the plastic bottle caps in the machine. He started to adjusted settings and took diligent notes in his note book. Then took out his lap top and started typing his research paper.
People started showing up as the time for classes draws near, stretching his body. He closed the laptop wrote a note about no touching and stuck it on the machine and walked out of the lab scrolling through his phone about the petrified birds found around the world..
Walking opposite to him a girl with long black hair and chocolate brown eyes with ear buds in listening to music as she scrolls through her social media account about the latest viral video of people finding Stone birds and decorating them with cute little accessories like hats or bows and painting them in vibrant shades and cool designs posted by someone called swell_swallows. They even stared a small shop with cute accessories for the stone birds.
Neither even gave each other a second glance as they passed each other. She let out a sigh as she walked towards her destination, the student council room. “I want one” she clicked her phone shut and walked in and took her chair. She dropped her bag near her table. She started organizing all the paperwork for the club budgets and proposals.
The soccer club wants new nets for the goals. 'Doable'.
The volleyball club wants to join a summer camp with the other schools. 'Doable but need to check with other schools and accommodation. I need to type out the parent permission forms.' She made a quick note and moved on.
The basketball club wants new balls and replace the hoops. 'Gosh... How much balls do these guys destroy in a month. I’ll just have to replace the hoops for now. The balls just have to wait a little longer, if they really want new balls they just need to bring one themselves.' She noted it down.
The crafts club just wants a new yarns and some new tools for carving wood. 'Doable.'
The swim club wants access to the pool early in the morning. 'Figures... the swim meet is in a few months. As long as they clean up and lock it properly I don’t mind at all.'
Music club wants a new sound system. 'I need to ask the principal for this one he wouldn’t mind if we just tell him we can show how great our school is in the school cultural festival and impress new students to join our school. A bit difficult but its nothing I can't manage.'
The drama club wants new costumes. 'We can just ask the crafts club to do it, I’m sure Ogawa san won’t mind. I’ll just need to budget in the expenses for cloth needed.' She made a note on the side to ask the crafts club president during the lunch break, if not I needed to find an alternative.
With a long suffering sigh she looked at the last clubs proposal. “Well... here goes nothing... I can’t postpone it any longer. No matter how much i wanted to.” She lifted up a stack of papers started to read the printed out paper patiently. She set the paper aside and covered her forehead like she just had a migraine by reading the proposal sent by their eccentric science club president.
Just then the door opened and in walked Rin Matsumoto, the student council's vice president. He let out a chuckle on seeing her state and started walking toward her. “I know that look. What does our resident genius want this time?” “See for yourself.” She handed him the paper. He just raised his eyebrow and plucked it from her hand and started skimming through it. He then gave her a deadpan look asking if this a joke.
This time it was her turn to chuckle. “Seems like our science prodigy wants an electron microscope, he even went on about all the pros on how it will benefit the school and how he can use it to further the growth of science as a whole for the entire human race for ten pages. Ten! front and back.” Her chuckles broke in to manic laughter and sobs at the same time. Rin just patted her head.
“Why does he have to go to the same school as me. He gives me so much work.” she fake sobs. “I get it he’s a genius and all but he forgets that we are the ones who collect the money required for insane projects and deal with all the failures.”
“Ah... right didn’t Ishigami kun win that robotics competition last month? We can use it and maybe ask the members to pitch in some and we can help out a little.” Rin suggested.
Mizuki just looked him dead in the eyes with a far away stare. “He already spent it all on a new synthesizer.” She dropped her head on her desk and moped. She looked up eyes bright with unshed tears and a hopeful look. “Please... Rin san.... help me deal with him again.” “ Eh.. No way! Deal with him yourself. You are the president besides you are his senior, don’t be so scared of him.” Rin argued.
“I’m not scared! He’s just... super annoying to deal with. No matter what I say or reason with him, he will just twist my words and convince me with some scientific jargon. I can’t deal with him.” she groaned. “But Mizuki chan that was like years ago, when he was a freshman. He could have changed by now. Come on go talk to him.” Rin argued. In reality he also didn’t want to deal with him. “ I’ll just send one of my underlings at him. Yeah that'll work.” she said with a toothy grin. “ That poor soul” Rin muttered under his breath as he took the paperwork to his desk to file them.
The bell rang. The day stated with the usual classes, people going to their classes bumping into each other. It was controlled chaos. Just a normal school day.
The afternoon bell rang signaling lunch break. People started going to the cafeteria or their club rooms to eat their lunch and finish up their projects or just simply hang out with friends. Mizuki walked into the crafts club room eyes zooming in on a cute girl with long brown hair and a white headband. She marched towards her like a women on a mission. Said girl just looked up from her crocheting. “Yamazaki senpai what can I do for you, do you need anything from the club room?” Yuzuriha questioned. “ Yes, Ogawa san. I have a request, you can decline it if you don’t want to do it.” Mizuki said with a hopeful look in her eyes “ What’s the request senpai.” “ It’s just that our budget is pretty tight this month and the drama club wants some new costumes for the play. If it’s not too much to ask can the crafts club help in making their costumes. Of course we’ll provide the materials.”
Yuzuriha looked like she had died and gone to heaven. 'This is my chance! I’m going to make the best costumes they ever wore and they’ll want more. This will help me in the long run when I mention it in my application when I go to college for fashion designing.' With a bright smile that could literally blind you she said she could do it. The two girls were hashing out the details for the costumes when the door slammed open and a boisterous teen walked in shouting. “YUZURIHA! I WANT TO TELL YOU SOMETHING! LISTEN TO ME YUZURIHA! I...” The teen just then realized that the girl he wanted to talk to was not alone and started stuttering.
“Ah Ooki kun it’s a pleasure meeting you. But please try to use your inside voice.” Mizuki said with smile at teen. Taiju on other hand was nervous and started to figgit under their gaze. He wanted to confess his feelings to Yuzuriha today but seeing Yamazaki senpai talking to Yuzuriha he back tracked. “I’M SO SORRY TO DISTURB YOU TWO! ILL BE GOING BACK NOW!” Taiju shouted again bowing at them almost slamming his head on a nearby desk. The two girls just sweat dropped at his behavior.
“What is it that you wanted to say to me Taiju kun?” Yuzuriha asked curiously stepping forward tilting her head to have a better look at his face. Taiju’s face instantly turned red as he opened and closed his mouth like a fish trying and failing miserably to convey his thoughts. It almost looked like his brain short circuited. Yuzuriha then realized what Taiju was going to say and blushed. Despite her nervous demeanor she asked again. "Taiju kun do you need something?"
Taiju in a burst of courage shouted “YUZURIHA MEET ME NEAR THE CAMPHOR TREE THIS EVENING!” and ran out of the door leaving the two girls. “Ogawa san it looks like Ooki kun has a crush on you” Mizuki said with a teasing smile but when she looked at Yuzuriha whose face is now beet red. She let out a small chuckle. “ Ahh~ to be young and in love” "Yamazaki senpai you are not much older than us.” Yuzuriha said half heartedly somewhat disappointed that Taiju didn’t tell her what she wanted to hear and also nervous that it’s going to happen soon.
The two girls then continued on their previous conversation while Taiju was running to the cafeteria to meet his best friend, Senku. Who was currently typing on his laptop and drinking an energy drink at the same time. Taiju plopped down on the seat opposite to him rummaging in his bag for the lunch boxes his grandma packed for him. He opened it and slid one towards Senku who didn’t even look up from his laptop and started to eating a few bites and pushed it back to him.
“SENKU! YOU NEED TO EAT MORE! EVER SINCE YOUR DAD WENT TO SPACE ALL YOU HAVE EATEN IS CUP RAMEN!” Taiju shouted as student near him gave him an annoying look. Senku just gave him an annoyed look but reached back and took a few more bites as he continued typing. Taiju gave him a bright smile and started eating his lunch. Just then a nervous looking teen maybe a year younger than them approached their table like they were walking to cave of lions. 'That guy is huge! The other guy looks like a normal enough guy. But they are close friends. What if I said something and offend them and I get bullied for the rest of my life! What if they kills me! What should I do! OK calm down we just need to drop of the document the council gave me and leave. Its easy! I can do that!' The kid thought as he walked closer to the table. Taiju looked up making the kid yelp in surprise. Senku didn’t even acknowledge him as he continued to type.
“What do you want kid? Do you need a place to sit? Here have my chair!” Taiju said as he stood up with a beaming smile. The kids eyes widened and started shaking his hands frantically. “ No! No! I’m here on council behalf. They wanted me to hand this document over to Ishigami senpai. That’s all!” the kid rushed to reply. Senku who was keeping an ear out looked up from his typing and held out his hand. The kid handed the documents over to him. Senku started to read it and gained an irritated look.“ Huh.. they rejected my proposal.. what a drag... I even went out on my way to list out all the pros. Looks like I just need to persuade them the usual way.” Senku said with an evil grin. The poor kid was terrified and nearly passed out in fear. 'This guy’s much scarier than the buff guy. What had I gotten myself into.' The kid slowly inched away and bolted as soon the two friends stated talking to one another.
“Senku! We should not threaten the student council! Yamazaki senpai is working hard, she’ll find a way! She always helps the students.” Taiju said as Senku just rolled his eyes and continued typing. “Yeah yeah. I know but I really need an electron microscope for my side projects.” Taiju just shook his head and started eating again.
Time skip
The classes were over for the day and students started going to their respective clubs. It was aa quite evening in the science club, until Taiju bursts threw the door shouting startling everyone except for one person. He was busy collecting the extracts from the machine. Taiju then marched towards Senku eyes determined. “ LISTEN UP, SENKU!! THERE’S NO STOPPING ME! IT’S GOTTA BE TODAY!! After five long years of having feelings for Yuzuriha... I’m finally gonna confess my love!!” the said scientist just turned face him as his hands still worked on the contraption. “Hmm.. interesting very interesting. I’ll be cheering for you so hard from here in the science lab that my vocal cords’ll snap.” He said with a bland tone. The sarcasm flew over Taiju’s head. “Oh yeah? Thanks. Senku!” “ Silence, I won’t cheer even one millimeter for you, you big oaf.” He continued to tinker on. “Wait! so which is it?!” “ A fool who takes five whole years to say anything is the epitome of absurdity.” Senku held up a flask of cloudy liquid. “Allow me to provide a method so rational it’ll kill you. This will send your pheromone production into overdrive. Basically, it’s a love potion. Your success is ten billion percent assured if you drink this!” He said with a evil grin on his face.
Taiju took the flask and stared at it and dumped the contents in the sink without a second thought. “Thanks, Senku but.. no thanks! I can’t go and cheat my way into her heart.” Taiju marched out of the lab head held high like he is going for a battle. 'I told Yuzuriha to meet me under the camphor tree. That’s where I’ll confess!! That’s right like the honest and upright dude I am...' His eyes blazed with resolve as he walked to their meeting spot.
“Was that really a love potion Senku....?” One of the club members asked. “Of course not. It’s just ordinary gasoline. I produced it from plastic bottle caps. Just think about the atomic structure of polyethylene, you fools! It’s merely long gasoline molecules chopped up by a few hydrocarbons. Simple enough to understand..” He told them like it was some basic knowledge everyone should know.
'I don’t get it.' One of the members though. 'What is he saying?' That was what most people thought not able to understand what any of that mean. “Taiju would’ve died if he drank it?” One piped up. “Heh Heh.. I was ten billion percent sure he wouldn’t drink it. He’s an honest fool..” He said with a fond look in his eyes.
Outside
“You wanted to talk right? So what is it, Taiju?” Yuzuriha asked Taiju as she saw him walking towards her. The wind blew sweeping her hair as she held it in place. The evening sun giving her a radiant glow. Taiju gulped as he looked at her, face flushing at her beauty.
“Guys! it’s happening come look!” One of the club member pointed out looking out of the window in the hallway. “I bet you 100 yen that he’ll get totally rejected.” One said. “Five hundred says she’ll reject him.” Another one piped in. “Put me down fora hundred.” The third guy said. “Ten thousand yen says she’ll accept him. Contrary to expectations.” Senku joined in on the bet while getting an energy drink from the vending machine down the hall and casually sipping on it while looking at the couple threw the window. “Really?!” they exclaimed.
“You do know that gambling is against the school rules, right?” A calm voice interrupted them. “Ah.. president! Its nothing we were just talking.” “Yeah it’s not serious! We are just playing around!” they made excuses while shaking their hands frantically. She just gave them a side eyed glance and turned to watch the drama unfold. “If you say so..” she muttered. Secretly she was annoyed that they didn’t believe in their friend. 'Aw.. they’ll make a really cute couple'. She thought as she looked at them with fond eyes.
Back to the love birds
'This whole time, I’ve been terrified of losing Yuzuriha as a friend! But today’s the day! I Ooki Taiju will not back down this time!' His eyes shining with determination which made Yuzuriha blush. “Listen to me, Yuzuriha! These past five years... I..” He stopped mid sentence and looked at the sky, where a bright green light was seen racing towards them. “Huh?! What’s that light...?” 'I have no idea but..' It didn’t stop him from throwing himself in front of her raising his arms up to shield her from whatever that is happening. “Yuzuriha! Hold on to that tree!”
The green light had enveloped the entire world turning every human into stone, the panic started within their minds not being able to comprehend what had happened to them. 'All of a sudden... I can’t move..'
People were confused and terrified. 'What?! Everything’s gone dark..'
'Why is it dark?! Why can’t I move?!'
Children crying out for help within their minds to be saved. 'Mom.. Dad... I’m afraid.... where are you..' Everyone had different thoughts on what is happening. 'Am I having a stroke?'
'Terrorists? No..'
'I can’t die yet! There is still so much to...'
'Oh no... my consciousness... it’s slipping....'
Even their thoughts were silenced after few days, slipping into unconsciousness...
On that faithful day, Humanity as a whole had gone still.. but the earth moves on.
Chapter 2: Chapter 2
Summary:
I don't own anything. English is not my first language so there might be some mistakes here and there so bare with me. I'm just writing this for fun and to improve my English. I'm open to suggestions and I read all your comments.
Chapter Text
CHAPTER 2
Trees rustling in the wind as autumn leaves fell on the ground and being swept away by the cold November air. Animals running around making noise as they stepped on crunchy leaves to find food. In a distant part of the forest near a cave filled with bats lay a statue half covered in dirt and moss.
Drip.. drop.. drip.. drop..
A crack.. a small crack that later fractures and break, a girl no older than 16 wakes up from being petrified. She gently sits up, eyes scanning her surroundings, analyzing. She gets up as her legs wobble and eyes roaming around her surroundings assessing her situation. ‘It looks like everyone was indeed petrified like me. I wonder if there’s any one else who broke free like me?..’ she wondered. Just then a cold breeze passes throw making her shiver as she hugged herself. “ Okay!.. first thing I need is something to cover myself from the cold, then shelter and fire. The food can wait till I manage this.”
With the plan made, She marches into the forest and grabbed some vines and leaves, shaking them thoroughly to make sure there aren’t any insects on it and rapped it around her. She took some more leave and broke some branches and brought to the cave she had woken up next to. Once she entered into the cave, she almost gagged at the smell. Looking around she found the source of the smell, bats… and bat poop… ‘Eww.. I need find a better campsite fast.’
With no other choice she hauled everything in to make a small bedding for the night. She then went out and collected some dry branches and twigs to start a fire. She stated rubbing it diligently. It took a lot longer than she hoped but in the end she managed to start a small fire. Her hands were tired from spinning the stick continuously but she pushed through it. Throwing in a big piece of wood so it doesn’t go out during the night. She then gathered some stones and placed it around the fire so nothing else catches on fire.
With a sigh, she walked out of the cave to search for something to eat. The sun was still up so she had no problem finding some berries. “ These will run out soon as the temperature drops… I need to find a better alternative food source.” she walked for a while marking down the paths she took while collecting some mushrooms and herbs. She then reached a river, the fish were swimming in the glistening water. ‘There is no use in even trying to catch it… I need to make some sort of spear.’ She gathered some stones to make some knives and spears.
The sun started to set as she trekked back to her makeshift home. Adding some fire wood she begun munching down the berries and roasted mushrooms. ‘I’m just happy I didn’t poison myself.. its all thanks to grandpa’s survival training. Thanks gramps, once I set up a decent campsite, I’ll come looking for you… that’s a promise.’
With nothing else to do, her mind started wandering. Being conscious through the years made your mind unable to quite down. It filled itself with too much thoughts like it’s trying to keep itself busy so it doesn’t fade into unconsciousness. She just laid there watching the fire as the sun goes down. Even if she is tired she couldn’t seem to fall asleep. ‘Guess there is no sleep for me… Might as well do something productive.’
She grabbed some of the stones she collected and started examining them. “If I remember correctly… I should be able to create a sharp edge if I hit the rocks in the correct angle..” she started smacking and chipping away rocks as she tried create some knives out of them.
It was around midnight when she got too tired to even lift her hands to hit the rocks, she fell flat on the pile of leaves that she calls bed and passed out in sheer exhaustion. The voices in her head dulled but never stopped.
Mizuki woke up to birds chipping. She stretched her body and went outside. ‘Looks like it’s been a couple of hours since the sun rose.’ She went back in and collect the stone knives she made the previous night. She was only able to only make two good ones so far. ‘Just because I know how to make one doesn’t mean I could do it.. I need more practice..’ She went out the forest collecting mushrooms and plants that are edible. She also collected some plants with lot of fibers along the way to the river. Once she reached the river she sat on a rock and started pounding the plants and braided them to make rope. She used it to tie the stone knives on a tree branch to make a spear. ‘This spear won’t last but this is all I can make for now.’
She got into the cold water shivering and stood still. Her eyes tracked the fish’s moment and in a swift motion she launched her spear at it. It only grazed it, but that was enough the fish swam to the shallow part of the river and she lunges at it. In the end she was able to catch 3 fishes. She cleaned them and stored the guts of the fish as bait for next time. She ate one of the fishes and stored it for later. She started exploring to get the lay of the land marking down the paths.
She found some animal trails and set up some traps along the way. She was lucky enough to spot a grove of bamboos on the other side of the river as she trekked on. She managed to cut some bamboo with her rudimentary knife and made a better spear than the first one.
She found a nice tree which was low enough that she could climb but high enough from the ground. ‘ Tree houses are the perfect choice to build… I won’t get flooded if it rains or the chances of a random animal walking in on me will be significantly low… besides there would be less bugs on the tree than on the floor.’ With her mind made up she began the arduous job of cutting and hauling bamboo and wood for her tree house. This was her daily routine, cut, haul and build.. she managed to make some fish traps and laid in the river. With that she was able to get at least couple of fishes every day. She’ll leave the rest in the river so can have it for another day. She even soaked some logs in the river and place it in a damp place away from the sunlight to grow her own mushrooms.
One time she caught a deer in one of her tarps. She managed to smoke and cure the meat and hung it high above tree so other animals won’t steal it. She was able to make a simple enough dress with it. (Just rapping it around her and stitching it on the sides.)That is how she survived. Every day she worked on the tree house, hunted for food scavenge for some berries or plants to eat and go to bed fully drained and immediately pass out. It helped her to keep the thoughts away.
There were days when she was not able to get any food but she managed to survive. She was not giving up but her will power started dwindling as days went by. ‘ what’s the point… all I do is work hard barely eat… is it even worth it?..’ The voices in her head started grow louder as days went by slowly chipping at her sanity.
One day while she was out scavenging, she heard rustling of leaves and a small growl. She immediately tensed, eyes scanning her surroundings. There in the bushes she spotted something that made her blood run cold. ‘Wolves..’ Their eyes gleamed in the sun light, their mouths snarling as they came out of the bushes surrounding her, caging her.
One wolf launched itself at her. Herr instincts kicked in and she twisted away from it. She took her spear and aimed it, ready to attack. She noted that there were only three Wolves which was three to many to deal with on her own in her condition. The Wolves started prowling around her assessing her threat level and deemed it adequate since they pounced at her.
What the wolves didn’t take into condition is the fact that a cornered animal will retaliate and fight back to survive. In spike of adrenaline she jabbed and slashed at them, knocking one out and managed wound one, but the biggest among them didn’t seem to mind as its pack gets beaten, it’s eyes were locked on to her and only her. It launched itself at her, she raised her spear to block it but with one swipe of its paw the spear broke in two. Her eyes widened in horror, the wolf jumped again she in a moment of desperation twisted the broken spear and stabbed at it. It was sheer dumb luck that she managed to stab it in its neck, but her luck didn’t last long as one of its paw swiped at her arm scratching it, not deep enough but it started bleeding.
After few minutes which felt like hours the wolf stopped moving falling limply on the ground. The other two wolves snarled but backed away slowly and ran. She fell to her knees panting, eyes trained on the wolf’s body. She looked at her hands which was still shaking from the adrenaline coursing through her. ‘Huh.. I guess I still have some will left in me to fight back.’ She sat up against the tree and took out her medical kit which was just some bandages and herbs. She started gently rubbing in the mixture and tied it tightly. ‘ I need to disinfect it when I get to the campsite to reduce the chance of getting an infection.’
She dragged herself and the dead wolf back to her campsite. It was almost finished just needed some small adjustments here and there. She set up a pot with water on the fire and started skinning the wolf. ‘Wolf meat is edible… but it’s going taste gross. Beggars can’t be choosers’ She hung the skin out to dry and stored the meat. She then started cleaning her wounds with hot water, wincing as she reapplied the herbs and a new bandage.
In the end she managed have a good but nasty tasting food for a week and a wolf cloak. It’s been 3 months since she woke and snow stared falling. Her tree house was now completed, she managed to store food and fire wood for the winter.
Winter was hard to survive on your own, the days were short the nights were long and the cold was unbearable but not as unbearable compared to her thoughts running in her mind. Sleep always eluded her. She couldn’t sleep for a long period of time. The next three months were a blur her. She woke up scavenge and hunt collect fire wood return home eat collapse on her bed and wait for sleep to come. She had managed to catch some deer and rabbits during that time, it kept her feed and the extra fur was a life saver in during the cold nights. Days passed as the snow stared to melt.
She started exploring more and more mentally noting down the terrain. Best spots for fishing, the path to the sea, location of fruit trees and what animals lived in which part of the forest. She managed to find her grandpa’s statue half buried under moss and sand. She unearthed it and placed it near a tree facing the river. She wanted to take him home with her but she felt wrong to move him. She remembered that on the day of the purification he was on his way to visit her grandma’s grave. ‘I’m happy grandpa.. even when the world was going to end, you stayed with the one person you loved the most… I envy you gramps… I don’t think there’ll be someone in this stone world that would love me like you did grandma.’
She would often come visit them just to talk about her day and simply just being with him helped her mentally. There was a small hope in her heart that one day your grandpa would break free like her. She also wondered about her parents who were in America during the petrification happened. She hoped that their statues didn’t break during all this time. ‘I don’t know when I’ll even have the chance to see you again… but don’t worry about me.. I’ll survive.’
A twig snapped. Her senses were on high alert eyes scanning for any threats, spear poised and ready. More rustling she peeked out from behind a tree…. It was a deer. It didn’t notice her and continued to graze. She aimed at it and hurled the spear. It missed by a few inches, the deer ran and she chased it grabbing her spear swinging and hopping from tree to tree while aiming her spear. In one swift motion she used all her power and threw it at the deer. It struck true to her target.
She got down from the tree and took out her knife and put an end to its suffering. She began tie the deer to her back to carry it to her camp when a drop of water fell on her nose. She looked up to see dark clouds rolling in with thunder and lightning. She immediately took off to her campsite.
She was almost halfway there when the rain and wind picked up making her unable to see. ‘There is no way in hell I’ll be able to make it back to the camp. I need to find a shelter and wait for the storm to pass. There’s only one shelter nearby.’ She picked up her pace to the bat cave. Legs aching from exhaustion as she ran into the cave panting heavily hands on her knees trying to catch breath. She caught moment in her peripheral, her muscles tensed. Lightning illuminated the cave as chocolate eyes met crimson eyes. Recognition flickered in their eye. There in the darkness of the cave, sat Ishigami Senku in nothing but vines covering his private but her eyes lingered on his dark eye bags and hallow cheeks.
“Ishigami kun…” “Pres..”
Three days earlier… Senku’s P.O.V
‘116,427,065,530 seconds since becoming petrified. It’s been… 3,689 years and 158 days.’
Drip… drop… drip… drop…
Crack..
Crimson eyes blinked open. ‘My top priority is to maintain the integrity of my surroundings! My body itself might provide invaluable clues… for unraveling this mystery.’ He started collecting all the stone fragments as it fell down. ‘The spot where I ended up… even my pose’ he marked the outline with stones. Digging a hole he placed all the stone fragments in it and covered it. ‘Until I can conduct a more thorough investigation.. I’d better preserve every last bit.’
There was rustling in the trees as he looked up to see monkeys staring at him. ‘I guess they’ve never seen a human before… so civilization’s all dead and gone, huh? I guess.. that makes me…’ He started grabbing some vines and covered himself with it. He looked up eyes glassy as he looked at all the statues around him. “The first human to be reborn into this world. The first ever.. smooth and shiny monkey! Get excited!!”
He walked around thinking. ‘Since I got petrified, it’s been… 117,354,893,870 seconds.’ He brought his fingers in front of his face to concentrate. ‘The earth’s rotation slows by 17/10,000,000 of a second every year, but that’s barely adds up to anything… and figuring in leap years is extra annoying… that’s some nasty mental math.’ He then walked up to a tree and wrote 5738 A.D April 1. “ Let’s call this year Zero. Our new starting date.”
He then stood up collecting some twigs and stared rubbing them together as the monkeys watched. He started to speak to the monkeys as if showing of what he’s about to do. “Behold the power of the smooth and shiny monkey! Our scientific civilization once made it to space… and I’m going to rebuild it all from scratch! Get excited!!” The monkeys just looked at him like he was stupid.
After a few minutes of intense rubbing he collapsed in exhaustion. ‘The primitive method just won’t work in Japan. It’s too humid here. I’m not Taiju with his meat headed brute strength… or Yuzuriha, with her dexterity and handcrafts clubs expertise.’ He then sat up grinning like this was just another challenge. ‘Heh heh Heh.. that’s right. The smooth and shiny monkey lacks claws and fangs. All he’s got is good old diligence and ingenuity.’ He looked up at the bright blue sky. ‘That’s the essence of civilization…’
He started collecting rocks by the river and smashing them to make stone tools with that he stripped the plant fibers and twisted it to make rope. With that he made a bow and used it to spin the stick much faster than he could with his bare hands. He managed to create embers which he blew on it to start a fire. He showed off his fire to the monkeys, who in turn ran away from there. It was already night when managed to create fire. He fell back on floor and face the sky stomach growling. ‘ I should probably find something to eat tomorrow.’ And promptly fell asleep under the starry night sky.
The second day was filled with him trying to find food. In the end he was only able to find some mushrooms and edible plants, it was enough to satisfy his hunger for some time. ‘ Surviving on your own is hard… I don’t have the built or stamina for it.’
The third day he decided to hunt with his makeshift spears but the animals were too fast and easily out paced him. He decided to make traps and waited. ‘I guess it’s just mushrooms again tonight… I just hope something gets caught in those traps… ’ he knew that his body was running on fumes and that it needed protein to function. That night he clutched his stomach in hunger as he fell asleep. Counting in his sleep for the morning to come fast.
The fourth day, he took it upon himself to chase a deer towards the traps but luck was not on his side as the deer ran in the opposite direction. He threw his spear at it but that barely made it. He screamed in frustration, thunder rumbled above him. ‘Heh.. My luck is shitty as usual…’ he ran back to his camp as wind picked up speed. The fire was put out in the wind and his tent collapsed on itself. He wanted to scream and cry out in frustration but he pushed on he collected the fire wood and made it the cave as rain started pouring down on him.
Inside the cave he started to make fire but the rope broke. ‘I might just die here… no food… no fire… no clothes… I’m pretty much sure that my body can only last for a couple of days at most…’ Just as he was about to try and start the fire again, he heard it. Footsteps… like someone was running. Eyes widened in realizing that he was not alone in this stone world. He watched on curiously as a silhouette ran towards the cave, he was pretty sure the person was a female and was carrying something with her. She ran into the cave panting not realizing that she was alone in the cave. He made a motion to stand up, he felt her body tense up at the sudden noise. Lightning flashed illuminating the cave, their gaze locked. Recognition flooded his mind.
A cheery voice arguing about budgets and refusal to fund his projects came flooding into his mind. She did not look like the girl he remembered. Her once long straight hair was braided in that French way, eyes filled with hardship only gained through months of surviving on their own.
“Pres..” “Ishigami kun..”
Chapter 3: Chapter 3
Summary:
I'm so sorry it took me a long time to update. I wrote this chapter a while ago but was not satisfied and changed it like 6 times already.
I'm still trying to figure out my writing style and what suits me best so bare with me.
Hope you guys like it.
Chapter Text
Second passed as both of just stared at each other. Senku was the first to break the silence. “ So Pres.. its been a while hasn’t it, when did you wake up?” He asked as if it was nothing more than a hallway chat at school. She just blinked and chuckled softly. ‘Of all the people in the world it had to be him that wakes up but it’s actually a good thing… but now I have deal with his smug ass till who knows how long… but it’s at least someone I know… ’ She gave him a genuine smile as she walked towards him and untied the dead deer from her back and dropped it near him. She sat next to him rummaging through her hip pouch as she spoke.
“It’s good to see you too Ishigami kun.” She sweat dropped, but answered. “I’ve been awake for maybe 6 months or so.. I didn’t exactly keep count on the days as I was too busy trying to survive on my own. Here catch.” He was genuinely surprised that she’s been awake for that long and in winter. ‘If it was me … yup I’d be dead within days during the winter. She must have some cheat level survival skills up her sleeves.’ She then threw him some stones, he fumbled but caught it. Looking at it he realized they were flints. He gingerly used it to start a fire while she cut some venison and skewered it on some sticks. The smell of cooking meat already had him drooling.
“And you, Ishigami kun? When did you wake up?.” Senku was kindling the fire as he spoke. “ I woke up three days ago. Today is April 4th year 5738. I thought I was the first one to wake up. Where was your statue? And just call me Senku there is no need for formalities in the stone world.” he asked curiously trying to solve any differences on how you both got unperified . “ I woke up around here, near the entrance of the cave. How did you know the date?” “I counted.” “…Oh” To say the least she was impressed. ‘Simple but efficient unlike me who let their thoughts run wild to stay conscious.’ She placed the skewered meat near the fire that Senku started. She removed her now soaked wolf cloak and hung it to dry near the fire. Senku keep staring at her as she undid her braids and shook out her wet hair by the fire so it dries fast. She noticed his staring. “Was there something else you wanted to ask me Senku san?”
“ Is that a wolf pelt? Did you kill a wolf?! I didn’t know you were that strong Pres.” He asked genuinely curious. “Yes, and I got lucky enough to survive that encounter.” She said as she ran her fingers over a bandage covered area, the wound was completely healed but she still kept it wrapped up not wanting to see the ugly scar. Senku didn’t say anything just thought that he wouldn’t have survived such an encounter on his own. He looked at her in a new light and a new found respect. He did respect her before, if it wasn’t for her managerial skills the school would have gone bankrupt by his first year. Mostly because of him. ‘hee.. Science doesn’t come cheap anyways.’
“When the rain stops,” Mizuki offered hesitantly. “you can come with me to my campsite. I’ve got leather to make you some clothes. You can stay there if you want.” She was not sure if it was too forward to ask him to come with her. Lately her loneliness had gnawed at her for months and was desperate for some human interaction to keep her sanity. So when she found Senku, She wanted.. no she needed the company even if she had to put up with his huge ego.
“Well it’s obvious I’m coming with you, from what I gathered I wouldn’t survive a week here in the stone world. Well… I can survive but barely. Knowing and doing things are entirely different thing, I learnt that the hard way.” He said that as a matter of fact. She hummed and handed him a skewer while adding salt and gave him a bamboo flask of water.
He gingerly took it and ate it in gusto. Savoring the taste of meat. “ You even made salt?” “ Yeah, the sea is just a few minutes walk from the camp.” They fell into a companionable silence until the rain stopped after a few minutes and they packed their belongings and Mizuki lead the way to her campsite.
Senku wanted to learn more about his president, he wanted know what he’s getting into. All he knows is that the students respect her and that she had a mad management skill and always argues with him about the budget. He know she’s trustworthy and kind but outside of that he knows nothing about her. ‘It’s not like we are short for time.’ Once they made it to the campsite he was impressed. A sturdy tree house. ‘Hmm… the structure is stable but we can improve it and it definitely needs insulation.’ He started to look around on what she had on stock and saw a simple water filtration system and couple of pots with mushrooms berries and some fruits. ‘It’s like I got myself a starter pack on survival.’ He grinned at the thought about not needing to a lot of work on his own just to survive anymore. By the time he finished looking around Mizuki climbed down from the tree house and handed him some deer hide. “Senku san, you can use these to make some clothes to cover up. I’m sorry I don’t have much right now since it’s still late winter, I’ll be able to hunt more and have enough to make another set of clothes for you.”
Senku took it along with some plant fiber threads and a bone needle. “You don’t need to waste any more resources on me, Pres. One set of clothes is enough for me. We’ll use that for something else.” He said as he walked to sit on a log near a fire pit and started working on the leather. She just scrunched her eyebrows and made a disgusted face. ‘Your gonna smell like a sweaty sock when summer hits.’ She just shrugged not bothering to convince him and walked to the river to clean the deer and remove its skin and hung it out to dry. She then took the now clean deer carcass to camp.
When she got back Senku was wearing… a dress. She burst out into laughter. Senku looked at her annoyed. “Huh? What are you laughing at?” She covered her mouth with one hand and gestured at his clothes. “Why are you wearing a dress? Do you need any help making pants or something?” Senku in return rolled his eyes. “It’s not a dress. It’s a lab coat. And besides pants need more material that we do not have.” He said it like it was the most logical option.
“You and your lab coat. Come to think of it, I never say you without one when we went to school. What?, does your wardrobe only consist of lab coats and smugness? Did you at least make under wear or are you going commando?” She said with a mischievous tilt to her voice. Senku’s ears turned a light shade of pink as he turned around and walked to see what else she got. “Of course I did I’m not a caveman.” She just giggled and went to make some deer stew from dinner. Senku looked closely to what she did.
She took a jar containing some whit substance which he assumes was animal fat and used it to fry up some herbs and vegetables. She sautéed them and added the meat, salt and pored water and let it simmer. While it was cooking she cut out thin stripper of meat and used salt for curing it and hung it up to dry to make some jerky.
The silence was broken by Senku. “Hey Pres, I wanted to ask you something.” She hummed in acknowledgement as she continued stirring the pot. “How come your this good at this survival stuff anyways?” “Well, it’s all thanks to my grandpa’s endurance training regime and I like to hike a lot whenever I have free time, so I know about some plants and herbs.” Senku just raised an eyebrow in surprise. “Endurance training? For what?” He wanted to know more about his mysterious President. “I practiced a little Kendo and traditional Japanese sword fighting under him. But I kinda retired a couple of years before the petrification happened.” The more he learned the more he found her interesting. He didn’t know she was into stuff like that.
She handed him a bowl of stew and a wooded spoon as she made one for herself. They ate in comfortable silence. By the time they finished it was starting to get dark and Senku felt full for the first time since he got unperified. He was almost at the verge of passing out from a food coma. She then collected the bowl and cleaned it. “Senku san, you can use the bed. I know your tired and I’ll be there in a few minutes you don’t have to wait on me. Here.” She handed him her cloak. “ You can use this as a blanket while I make one for you tomorrow.” Senku scrunched his eyebrow but he took the cloak and climbed up the ladder, muttering a thanks.
It pained him to be taken care of like he was a child. He was self sufficient from a young age but now even the thought of someone else is taking care of him made him want to cringe. ‘How is she this nice all of a sudden? Was she always like this? I don’t recall a moment where she was nice to me back at school… She always nagging about my experiments and how it violates rule, like it was something I cared. But I need to make it up to her, somehow.’ He thought to himself as he settled down near the bed, which was made up of some straw and covered in some fur pelt. It looked comfy. He noted that it would fit them both if they lied down next to each other, but he didn’t want to make her uncomfortable. He was already a freeloader at this point and didn’t want to push his luck.
The tree house was spacious enough to house at least 3 to 4 people comfortably. So he settled down near a corner and pulled the cloak around him to fend of the cold. He was about to fall asleep as he heard her climb up the ladder. “Senku san, I told you to use the bed. Come on its big enough to fit both of us beside you might catch a cold laying on the floor like that.” He just grumbled but obeyed and settled on the edge of the bed, his back facing her. She just shook her head and settled down on the other side. She had another fur blanket but it was much thinner compared to her cloak. “Good night Senku san.” He just mumbled a night and fell asleep in a few minutes. ‘ He must be really tired. Everyone knows that he has a below average endurance back in school. It must have been really taxiing on him to be on his own in this stone world.’
Later, Mizuki lay awake, She tried to sleep but as usual sleep eluded her, so she just stared at the ceiling trying to will herself to go to sleep. Ever since she was unperified she was unable to fall asleep. Her brain refused to shut up, it was always making up scenarios and reliving her memories in loops. It was hard to break some habits when you did it for thousands of years. She knows that she had became somewhat of an insomniac because of that trauma. She know that she couldn’t do anything about it at the moment, if it was the modern world she would have taken some sleeping pills and be able to fall asleep.
The silence was broken when she heard some mumbling coming from the scientist. She looked at him trying to understand his mumbling. She knows he’s still asleep because of his even breathing so she leaned in closer to hear what he was saying. “…seven, eight, nine, seven billion five hundred thousand eighty six hundred… one, two…” Her eyebrows shot up in surprise. ‘I guess he also developed his own quirks from staying conscious.’ She laid back down and his steady voice lulled her to sleep.
When morning came Mizuki was the first to get up, the sun was not out yet but she felt refreshed. ‘It’s the best sleep I had in months.’ She looked over at Senku who was still sound asleep. She gently got up and covered him with her blanket and got out not wanting to wake him just yet. She brushed her teeth with a bamboo brush and salt. She then picked a basket and a spear as she walked into the forest.
She managed find some eggs and berries and herbs, by the time she got back from her little excursions the sun was up. ‘it’s probably around 7 in the morning. He must be really tired if he’s still sleeping. ’ She made breakfast, just a simple scrambled egg with the dear meat and some berries. Once she ate she cleaned up everything and set out the other bowl of food and water for Senku. She climbed up the ladder and set it beside him with a spare toothbrush and salt. She then took out her spare clothing and climbed out. She then carried a big pot to fetch some water and take a bath in the river.
Senku woke up in a few minutes after she left. He felt fully rested, he stretched his back and arms felt it crack as he fully woke up. The first thing he noticed was, it was quite with just birds chirping and nothing else, then the blanket covering him. ‘ huh? She must have woken up early.’ He folded the blankets and cloak setting it aside and found the bowl of food and a toothbrush. He brushed and ate his breakfast.
He climbed downtrend ladder, bowl in hand. ‘Wonder where she run off to.’ He cleaned them and decided to survey the tree house to see what he can improve. ‘it’s the least I can do to help out.’
By the time Mizuki came back, Senku was busy drawing and writing something on the ground with a stick. “What are you working on?” She asked as she set down the pot of water. “I’m working on a to-do list of sort. I managed to categorize it based on the essentials needed immediately and building up on that.” He said with out looking up at her. “So what first on our priorities?” She asked curiously. ‘It’s good to know that he know what the next step is. I’ve been stuck with this set up for months not knowing what to do next.’ Senku smirked at her. “Calcium carbonate.” She sweat dropped. “I need a bit more explanation than that Senku san. I’m not a genius like you.” Senku looked at her with furrowed eyebrows. “ Are you joking? You are just as smart as me. I’ve seen your scores. You were always on the top 3 in your year.” He commented. Mizuki was surprised that he noticed that detail about her, she always thought he was arrogant and not cared about other people’s business if it didn’t affect him.
“I’m surprised you noticed that. But It’s only book smarts, I don’t know most of the stuff you know. But I guess I can learn.” She was interested to learn more, she kicked herself for not knowing important stuff for survival. But who could blame her, it all happened suddenly and they were thrust into the stone world without any warning. She was lucky enough to know the little things her grandpa thought her through the years.
“Of course I noticed your scores. It was practically next to mine on the score board. And you already have all the knowledge but don’t know how to use it properly. I’ll teach you everything.” He grinned widely. “OK, so what do you need me to do?” “We need seashells, a lot of them.” And that’s how they spent the rest of the day, collecting sea shells by the sea. They hauled it back to the campsite. Mizuki carrying a basket filled to the brim while Senku struggled to carry even half of it. She just giggled at his lack of strength. “Still can’t run a kilometer without gasping, huh, Senku san?” Senku was panting but replied. “Brains beat brawn every time, Pres.. you know that….” “ Oh I can definitely see that.”
“Now we crush them into fine powder. Calcium carbonate has 4 main uses but we only need the first 2 at the moment. The first use is insulation. If we bake it over the fire it produces cement. The next is very important and a necessity in the stone world which is filled with germs and infections, Soap.” He explained as she listened closely to what he said and made mental notes on it. But when he mentioned Soap, she got distracted thinking about baths and the thought of feeling clean again and her mind drifted to the thought of bubble baths… hot shower… She let out a wistful sigh. Senku noticed her distraction and snapped his fingers before her eyes while raising his eyebrow in question.
“Senku san, tell me what else you need to make soap. I’ll gather everything even if I have to walk miles to get it. I’ll get it.” Her eyes sparkled in new found determination. He was taken back by it and a little creeped out. ‘Well.. that didn’t take long to convince.’ He explained the process and things needed to make a basic soap. She listened attentively.
The next day she got up pretty early like usual but Senku also woke up after a bit. She went out to the forest to gather food. Senku in return used his free time to crush the sea shells they brought. They made ate their breakfast and she set out to the sea. Senku told her that he needed sea weed to make soap. By afternoon they had a few bars of soap. Mizuki was brimming with excitement to test it out. Senku handed her one which she took with excitement and thanked him profusely and dashed of to the river. Senku just sweat dropped and continued storing the rest of the soap and mixing up the calcium carbonate to make cement.
Mizuki came back after an hour feeling refreshed. She was brimming with happiness. “You seemed to have enjoyed your hour long bath.” Senku asked in a teasing tone. “You have no idea. It feels like forever since I felt this clean. Just rinsing in water doesn’t compare.” He just chuckled oddly satisfied that he was able to repay some of her kindness that she showed him.
“So what’s next in our list Senku san?.” She asked as they ate dinner. “Our next goal is to figure out the process of petrification. We need more man power if we are going to rebuild humanity.” She nodded in understanding. ‘It was the most logical next step. They have stable food supply and shelter. Now it’s the time to crack down on the mystery of the petrification.’ Senku thought as he made plans.
“Senku san do you have any guesses on how we got petrified?” She asked curiously. Senku got up and started pacing like he was about give out a lecture. “ During the petrification I had a lot of time to think. I managed to form three hypnosis. First possibility is that that it was man-made. Like some super secret government weapon. Second is some sort of virus that only affects humans and swallow. And final one is aliens.” He explained it.
“I like the alien one. That one sounds like a book I read. It’s always the aliens!” She exclaimed enthusiastically. Senku just sweat dropped. “Our objective now is to investigate how we broke free from the petrification and find out that process behind it and try to recreate it. It’s going to be a hell of a journey, so get excited!” Mizuki felt the enthusiasm in his voice and it made her happy. She always admired his ambition and never give up attitude. “I’ll help you in every way I can. You can count on me, Senku san.”
Chapter 4: Chapter 4
Summary:
It's just small things I wanted add before Taiju shows up. I'll be able to update in a week or so.
Chapter Text
Senku was wheezing again. Not dramatically, he’d never give her that satisfaction but enough that Mizuki slowed her pace as they carried a bundle of logs up to the treehouse. “You really have the stamina of a retired grandpa,” she said dryly, adjusting the weight on her shoulder.
Senku shot her a flat look, his hair sticking to his forehead with sweat. “Tch. Stamina’s irrelevant when you’ve got a genius brain. I could outthink a cheetah any day.” “Pretty sure the cheetah would just eat you while you explained the physics of running.” Senku didn’t comment on it as he was too busy trying not to die.
Mizuki wanted to go out hunting while Senku wants to go and investigate the cave and crack down on the process of depetrification. “Senku san, remember to only follow the marked paths and don’t take any detours. The wolf pack territory is only few miles away so here.” she handed him a spear. “ If you hear anything don’t try to fight. Run and try to climb a tree as fast as you can. The spear is only a last resort.” She said seriously. Senku didn’t argue but he took the spear and marched to the cave.
Senku reached the cave without any incidents. He first took out the stone fragments that he buried and started to examine it. ‘What is the cause for breaking out and why now. Six month apart. There are too many variables to consider.’ He tried to piece together the broken pieces of stone. He waked to the place where he thinks Mizuki broke out. He noticed how her statue was much closer to the cave.
He entered further into the cave searching for anything out of the ordinary. He first noticed the smell and found bats then noticed a puddle of yellow liquid. ‘Nitric acid.’ His brain worked on calculations and connecting all the known variables. He grabbed the back of his head and ripped out some stone that was still stuck on his neck and put it under the dripping liquid. It took a minute but the stone fragment broke. His eyes widened.
‘So Nitric acid is the key….’ Senku thought as he started collecting it with a cup. He needs to test it. He left it there for it to collect and started searching. ‘If my calculations are correct… that big oaf should be a little further away from me.’ He searched for an a hour or so when he noticed a hand poking out from the ground. Hope flared in his eyes. He tried to dig by hand but realized it was futile effort. ‘ I need a shovel.’ He went to camp to get it.
It roughly took him a couple of hours to dig Taiju out. His eyes glazed a bit after seeing his life long friend. He grabbed the Nitric acid and dumped it on him and waited. Nothing happened. ‘Of course…. It wouldn’t be that easy…’ His brain started racing trying to figure out the missing clues. ‘Think brain think… why… we were both conscious… think….’ His eyes widened in realization. ‘That’s right thinking needs energy and…. Energy can’t be created or destroyed… that’s the most fundamental rule.’ Is eyes gleamed at the thought, Senku without any warning bit his thumb and wrote down the formula for Energy. E=mc²
‘Now I know that Nitric acid is effective, I need to make some experiments with it and test them out.’ He waked back to camp with some Nitric acid, contemplating on the things he needs to do.
Mizuki was preparing ingredients for dinner when Senku got back. She was about to call him but noticed how he was deep in thought so she let him have his moment. She also noticed the writing on his lab coat. Her eyes twitched. She marched up to him and smacked his head. He almost face planted on the ground but caught himself. He was about to shout at her but seeing the fury on her face he decided that he should shut up and figure out why she smacked him in the first place.
“You absolute idiot! Do you have any idea on what you just did?!” snatching the coat down. “What the hell is this?!”
Senku looked up at her, completely unfazed. “E = mc². Einstein’s mass–energy equivalence. Didn’t want to forget it.”
“You wrote it in blood,” she snapped. “Your blood, Senku!” He tilted his head, expression calm, clinical. “Ink wasn’t exactly lying around. Blood coagulates slower than most natural dyes, perfect medium.” Mizuki’s voice rose, sharp with disbelief. “Perfect medium? You’re bleeding on purpose just to scribble formulas?”
“Relax, Pres. It was a superficial nick. Barely enough to count as a proper wound .” He shrugged, already turning back to his work. “Besides, science doesn’t wait for ideal conditions.” Her grip tightened on the coat. “You’re reckless.” She muttered about infections but warped his thumb with a piece of cloth. “ Relax Pres… its nothing to worry about.” He didn’t look at her but let her treat him. She just sighed and got back to cooking muttering about idiots and their stupidity for not caring about their health.
Later…
The night air was heavy with the scent of pine and damp earth. Mizuki crouched beside the crude clay bowl Senku had set over the fire, the liquid inside bubbling faintly. She wrinkled her nose. “That smells like rotten citrus mixed with vinegar.” “Because it basically is,” Senku said, crouched on the other side. His eyes gleamed in the firelight. “Nitric acid. With the right adjustments, it’ll be our ticket to reviving humanity.”
Mizuki leaned back slightly, crossing her arms. “And if you’re wrong, it’ll be our ticket to burning a hole through the statues.” “Ten billion percent chance I’m not wrong,” Senku shot back. “The problem isn’t the theory, it’s stabilizing the stuff long enough to use it. That’s the experiment.”
She arched a brow. “And you want me to just… trust you? When you’ve already admitted you have the stamina of a wet cat?” He smirked. “You’ve survived six months alone, Pres. If it blows up in my face, you’ll manage.” Mizuki snorted, shaking her head. “Unbelievable. You’d risk turning yourself into a science casualty.”
“Better me than you,” Senku said simply, eyes still fixed on the bowl. That quiet bluntness gave her pause. For a moment, the fire crackled louder than either of them. Finally, Mizuki leaned forward again, peering at the liquid. “So. You’re really trying to make the fluid that’ll bring people back?” “Damn right. Humanity’s not getting anywhere if it’s just one fighter and one brain rotting in a tree house.” She rolled her eyes but a faint smile tugged at her lips. “Flattering way to describe a partnership.” Senku’s mouth curved in that infuriating smirk. “Symbiosis. We’ve been over this.” “Stop saying that, you make it sound like we are parasites or something.” He smirked “Symbiosis.”
Before Mizuki could retort, the liquid hissed, sending up a puff of acrid steam. She jerked back instinctively, while Senku leaned in, eyes alight. “Beautiful,” he breathed. “This is the closest yet.” “Beautiful?” Mizuki coughed, waving the fumes away. “You’re insane.” “Insanely brilliant,” Senku corrected, smirk widening.
Mizuki huffed, but the warmth in her chest betrayed her. She hated admitting it, even to herself, but watching him light up over his science almost made the whole world feel less empty.
Almost.
Then the liquid caught on fire. They both scrambled to put it out. But that didn’t stop Senku one bit. He kept experimenting on the Nitric acid, he asked Mizuki to get him some stone birds as test subjects.
Days went by like that, Senku trying to figure out how to use Nitric acid to depetrify. Mizuki was busy collecting food and essential while also helping Senku with his experiments. They also moved Taiju’s statue to the cave under the dripping acid and Senku left him a note when he wakes up.
Senku noticed lately that Mizuki had trouble sleeping. He of course noticed how she tries to lay still, body stiff so she wouldn’t wake him up, but he can see the signs. He wasn’t blind, it was all over her face. Eyes like a raccoon, body slouching, less argumentative. He need to do something about it so he confronted her.
“What do you want Senku san?” She asked. “You can’t sleep, can you? You were out for” he passed for a second calculating “one hour and thirty-two minutes before jolting awake every night. That’s not rest, Pres, that’s a nap.” “Says the guy who stays up late through the night sketching on the ground.” She was slightly offended that he caught her. Mizuki tried brushing it off. “You’re imagining things. I’m fine.”
Senku smirked. “Your fine comes with elevated heart rate, slower reflex recovery, and cognitive delay after dark. Classic insomnia symptoms. You’ve been stone-eyed for months, haven’t you?” Her lips pressed into a thin line. “Doesn’t matter. I’ve managed.”
“Managed, sure.” He leaned back, gaze sharp and calculating. “But managing isn’t sustainable. Sleep deprivation tanks immune response by forty percent, lowers precision, and makes you a liability in survival.” Mizuki’s jaw tightened. “So I’m a liability now?”
“Statistically? Yes,” Senku said without hesitation. Then, softer but still even, “But you don’t have to be.” She looked at him, wary. “…Meaning?” “Meaning there are solutions,” he said casually, turning his attention back to the dirt where he’d been sketching chemical symbols. “Natural sedatives, routine conditioning, circadian resets. I’ll figure it out.”
Mizuki narrowed her eyes. “Don’t. Waste your time on me. You’ve got bigger priorities.” Senku chuckled, the sound low. “Helping you sleep means fewer mistakes and higher efficiency. Hardly a waste.” Her mouth opened, but no retort came. Instead, she turned away, hugging her knees. “…You really are impossible.” “Ten billion percent,” Senku agreed, scratching another formula into the dirt as if the matter were settled.
And just like that, he let it drop. No coaxing, no sympathy. Sleep never came easily, not after years of stone-bound awareness. She knows that he’s only trying to help but there are better things for him to focus on than to look after her in the midst of all this.
But later that night, when Mizuki stirred again from shallow rest, she caught the faint scent of something steeping over the fire, bitter herbs and roots. Senku crouched nearby, grinding something in a hollowed-out stone bowl. The rasp of pestle on rock had become so normal Mizuki hardly noticed anymore. Until the scent drifted over sharp, earthy, faintly sweet.
She frowned. “What are you doing now? Please don’t tell me you’ve invented another questionable acid.” Senku smirked without looking up. “Not acid. Tea.” “Tea?” She arched a brow. “With what, exactly? Pine needles and wishful thinking?” “Valerian root,” Senku said matter-of-factly, sifting the powder into a clay cup with steaming water. “Combined with a few sedative compounds from wild passionflower. Should help with that insomnia.” He said dryly. “I can tell from your cortisol levels, your lack of REM recovery, and the fact that you look like death warmed over every morning.” She glared. “You could’ve just said I have dark circles.”
He handed her the cup instead, unbothered. “Drink.” Mizuki sniffed it suspiciously. The aroma was strong, bitter. “You’re sure this won’t knock me out for good?” “Ten billion percent sure,” Senku said, that smug grin flashing. “I need my Pres alive. Who else is going to babysit me while I run out of stamina climbing hills?” Despite herself, she chuckled and took a cautious sip. The taste was awful… like chewed bark steeped in swamp water. “…This is disgusting.”
“Effective medicine usually is,” Senku replied easily. “If you wanted flavor, I’d have added honey which we don’t have.” She set the cup down, fighting a smile she didn’t want him to see. “…You really are impossible.” “And you’re still drinking it,” he shot back instantly. Her lips curved despite her best effort. The warmth in her chest wasn’t just from the tea. For the first time in a long while, the idea of closing her eyes didn’t feel quite so unbearable.
She decided that she needs to repay Senku for the tea. It helped her a lot. She managed to get enough sleep. She decided to give him something useful. ‘What the hell can I give him that will be useful? What does he even need?...’ Her eyes lit up at a thought. She ran to the river and collected some plants. ‘ Paper… yes I can make him a note book.’ For the next few days she worked on making paper and binding with a sting. She even made some charcoal pencils to go along with it. ‘Now how do I give it to him without his ego getting big.’
She marched towards the camp notebook hidden in her cloak. Senku was busy sketching chemical equations on the ground. “Do you really need to write your notes on every available space on the ground?” she asked in a teasing tone. Senku didn’t raise to the bait, he continued muttering as he wrote. She rolled her eyes and stepped on the equation. His eyes snapped up instantly annoyed.
“If you want to annoy me do it later. I’m busy, can’t you see?” His eyes widened. “Don’t just stare! Just take it.” She was not making eye contact with him. Once he took the notebook she turned around and speed walked away. He chuckled but his eyes softened a bit at her actions.
Mizuki was bored and decided that it was high time that she needs to retrain her body in the art of Kendo. They are in a good condition, they had stable food supply for the both of them and clean water, the shelter was sturdy and Senku rarely asks for help on his experiments. So she decided to practice her fighting skill. ‘Who know when we might stumble into a bunch of wild beasts.’ For that she needs a shinai. She took a branch and started carving it to the right shape. ‘It can’t be that hard to make a shinai.’ Oh how wrong she was.
Mizuki’s makeshift shinai snapped with a sharp crack, splinters scattering across the dirt. She stared at the broken branch in her hand, lips pressed into a thin line. “Another casualty?” Senku’s voice drawled from where he was crouched over his latest experiment. “It lasted longer than the last one,” Mizuki muttered, tossing the remains aside. “But wood this green won’t hold up. I’ll have to cut another.”
Senku stood, brushing the dirt off his hands. His gaze flicked from the shattered branches to her calloused palms. “…Crude junk like that’s gonna keep breaking. You’re wasting energy making replacements.” She shot him a look. “What do you suggest, genius? The world’s out of sporting goods shops.” That infuriating smirk curved his mouth. “Who needs shops when you’ve got me?”
The next two hours were spent with Senku sketching and muttering formulas, Mizuki fetching materials under his terse instructions. Bamboo, heated and split with precision. Fibers twisted and woven tight for binding. Even the grip was wrapped with softened bark strips for traction. When he finally handed it over, Mizuki blinked. The weight was balanced, the length exact, the snap of the bamboo segments sharp and clean.
“This…” she turned it over in her hands, almost reverently. “This is actually….” “Properly engineered,” Senku finished smugly. “Traditional shinai design. I tweaked the balance ratio so your strikes land harder with less wasted effort. Ten billion percent better than your caveman sticks.”
Mizuki swung it experimentally. The air sang as it cut through, smooth and controlled. Her heart gave a strange little thud. “…It feels real.” “Of course it feels real,” Senku said, arms crossed, eyes glinting with satisfaction. “It’s not a toy. It’s a weapon optimized by physics.” She lowered the shinai, meeting his gaze. “You didn’t have to do this.”
“Correction: I had to,” Senku countered. “You’re our combat system. If your equipment fails, that’s a problem for both of us.” Her lips twitched. “So this is just efficiency again?” “Exactly,” he said, with that same maddening grin.
Mizuki looked down at the weapon in her hands, fingers tightening on the grip. She could pretend to believe him. She should pretend. But she couldn’t shake the warmth blooming in her chest.
The sun was barely over the horizon when Mizuki found Senku dragging logs across the clearing, muttering under his breath about structural integrity and airflow. She crossed her arms. “You’re going to keel over before you’ve even built a wall.” Senku shot her a sharp look. “A scientist without a lab is like a warrior without a blade. Ten billion percent inefficient. I’m not wasting my brainpower balancing beakers on tree roots.”
“You don’t have stamina for hauling lumber,” Mizuki countered, stepping forward and plucking the log from his hands. “You’ll just collapse and leave me with another problem to fix.” Senku smirked. “Then fix it faster, Pres. You’re built for grunt work.” She narrowed her eyes, but the corner of her mouth twitched. “Fine. But if I’m building your kingdom of science, you’re going to help out. I’m not doing it alone.”
The next hours blurred into motion as Mizuki cutting and setting supports with sharp, efficient strikes, Senku directing angles and placements with infuriating precision. She hefted stones for the base, while he shaped mud into bricks and clay tiles. “You want ventilation here,” Senku explained, sketching in the dirt, “to keep fumes from building up. Two openings: one for intake, one for outflow. If we get airflow right, I can heat solutions without choking us both to death.”
“And if we don’t?” Mizuki asked, hefting another stone into place. “Then you’ll die before me,” Senku said cheerfully. She glared, sweat dripping down her temple. “You’re impossible.” “Ten billion percent.”
By the time dusk painted the sky, a crude but functional frame stood tall, a skeleton of bamboo and logs with a thatched roof, walls half-finished but sturdy. Senku stepped back, eyes gleaming as though he were staring at the Taj Mahal instead of a shack in the wilderness. “Not bad,” Mizuki admitted, brushing dirt from her hands. “For a glorified shed.”
“Glorified shed?” Senku scoffed. “This is the birthplace of humanity’s comeback. Chemistry, metallurgy, medicine, all from here.” His grin widened, sharp and proud. “You just helped lay the foundation for the revival of civilization.” Mizuki rolled her eyes, but couldn’t hide her smile. “You’re welcome, O Great Scientist.”
He glanced at her, smirk curving. “Careful, Pres. Keep this up and I’ll start thinking you’re useful.” Her heart gave an odd little twist at that. She hid it with a scoff. “As if you don’t exploit me already.”
It's been almost six months since she meet Senku, they managed to survive without any hitch so far. With Senku’s intellect they managed to improve their living conditions. But some times she just wants to be alone from all the chaos he cooks up in that lab of his. Her feet dragged her to a well known path. The forest was quiet, save for the whisper of wind in the leaves. Mizuki brushed past the undergrowth until she reached the small clearing she had marked months ago.
There, half-covered in dried leaves, stood her grandfather’s stone form, eyes frozen with the warmth of a smile she still remembered. She knelt before him, brushing the leaves from his face with gentle fingers. Her chest ached, but she managed a small, shaky laugh. “Hey, Grandpa… it’s me again.” Her voice wavered, but she pressed on, leaning her forehead briefly against the cool stone.
“I made it. Six months on my own can you believe it? I built a treehouse like you once taught me when I was little. Said every Yamazaki should know how to stand on their own feet.” She smiled faintly. “Guess I finally did…. But… I wasn’t alone for long. Senku woke up.”
She hesitated, lips pressing together, before a soft sigh escaped her. “You’d probably laugh. The kid genius who used to drive me crazy back in school … now he’s the only one I can rely on. He’s impossible, Grandpa. He pushes himself until he breaks, he risks everything for science, and half the time I want to smack
him.” Her voice softened. “But he’s also… brilliant. And stubborn enough to make me believe we really can survive this.” She sat back on her heels, eyes flicking up to the unchanging stone face. “I don’t know how long we’ll last out here. But with him, it feels… less lonely. Like maybe, just maybe, we’ll actually make it.”
Silence stretched between her and the statue. She closed her eyes, whispering, “I’ll keep going. For you. For Mom and Dad. For everyone. And… for him, too.” When she finally rose, brushing dirt from her knees, the weight in her chest felt a little lighter. She gave the statue one last glance, her voice barely a breath. “Wish you could meet him. You’d probably tell me he’s trouble. And you’d be right.” She chuckled as she walked back to the camp.
Chapter 5: Chapter 5
Summary:
Taiju’s awake!!
I just wrote some random moments I thought would work and stitched them up in this chapter. I wanted to add more moments between the three but the chapter became too long.
So I got this crazy idea to write another fanfiction but with random scenarios I thought of but didn't add in the main story line.
Notes:
I don't know that much about science and about acid so I just made most of it up. The only thing senku taught me is nitric acid plus ethanol is nital. But the rest is all me. I wanted that process to be long enough so I added some details, I'm not sure if what I wrote is scientifically accurate or not.
(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)
Chapter Text
It was like every other morning. Mizuki had her spear slung across her back as she slipped through the trees, eyes sharp for any sign of prey. Back at camp, Senku had gone out to gather firewood, muttering something about his next step in refining the acids composition. The forest was quiet, Senku was gathering some sticks until a sudden rustle broke the stillness. Heavy, frantic, crashing through undergrowth.
Senku froze, a bundle of sticks in his arms. His mind ran through the possibilities: boar, bear, maybe worse. He shifted his grip, ready to drop the wood and bolt if he had to. Mizuki’s warning flashed in his mind. ‘Climb a tree as fast as you can and use a spear as a last resort.’ He cursed himself for not taking the spear with him but he still had his ax that he used for cutting fire wood. He climbed on to a branch holding the ax in one hand and the bundle of sticks on the other. ‘If worse comes to pass I can just chuck the sticks at it and hope that one stabs it’s eyes or something.’
Then a familiar voice split the air. “SENKU!!” The next second, a massive figure barreled out of the brush, leaves tangled in his hair, eyes wide with relief. Senku blinked, and for the briefest moment his breath caught. “…Taiju.” His old friend skidded to a halt, chest heaving. “I… I found you! You’re really alive!” He laughed, loud and unrestrained, tears already spilling down his dirt-streaked face. “I knew it! I knew you’d make it!”
Senku adjusted his grip on the firewood, expression cool and steady. “Took you long enough. You big oaf. I been awake for 6 months already. ” Taiju choked out a laugh, rubbing at his eyes. Taiju in his excitement jumped up to hug him. Senku’s face immediately scrunched in disgust. “Don’t you dare hug me all naked like that! I’ll kill you!” And kicked him off him. Senku finally exhaled, tilting his head with a faint smirk. “I’ve been waiting for you for a very long time, because I was ten billion percent sure you were still alive! A man determined to confess his love to Yuzuriha… who got interrupted halfway wouldn’t let a few measly millennia stand in the way.! You are made of stronger stuff than that!”
Taiju grinning like a fool, both frozen like time had rewound like when they were back at school. Senku’s face was calm, almost bored but his hands trembled, ever so slightly, where they clutched the firewood. His eyes softened on seeing his best friend again.
“You are built like a gorilla.” Senku muttered, dusting off his coat. “I’ll definitely need that horsepower.” Taiju grinned sheepishly. “Guess some things never change, huh?” “Unfortunately,” Senku replied, though his smirk lingered. They both marched back to the camp while Taiju carried the fire wood.
Mizuki was sitting on the log in camp busy making more traps when they came. Senku, as if he just remembered something said to Taiju. “Oh! I forgot to mention, the Pres is also here.”
Taiju blinked, turning toward her. His jaw dropped. “W-whoa! Ahh... Yamazaki senpai?! You woke up too?!” “Sharp observations, Ooki kun” Mizuki said dryly.
Instead of being offended, Taiju lit up with joy. “That’s amazing! I thought it was just me and Senku! And you remember me!” He excitedly waved like they hadn’t just spent thousands of years as statues.
Mizuki eyed the him, then glanced at Senku. “Was he always this loud?” “Loud, clumsy, hopeless at science,” Senku said smoothly. “But he’s got one unbeatable skill, never giving up. Trust me, it’s more useful than it sounds.”
Mizuki raised an eyebrow. She could hear it, the rare, genuine respect hidden under Senku’s casual tone. That alone told her everything. Senku trusts Taiju. She didn’t have that many interactions with him but she knows he’s a good kid. With a small sigh, she got up glancing at his almost naked body and turned to get him the clothes she had prepared. “Wait here a second Ooki kun, I’ll bring you some clothes.”
Taiju blushed scarlet trying to cover up but laughed, rubbing the back of his head. “Ah… sorry about that. Guess I got a little excited and forgot I wasn’t wearing anything.” “‘A little,’ he says,” Senku muttered, but the corner of his mouth twitched upward. She handed him the clothes. Taiju beamed at her like she’d just handed him the world. “Thank you, Yamazaki senpai! From now on you both don’t have to worry about anything! I’ll do all the heavy lifting! I’ll pull my own weight!”
Senku snorted. “More like ten people’s weight. That’s the point.” Mizuki glanced at Senku then, catching the light in his eyes he thought he was hiding. For all his sarcasm, his relief at having Taiju back was undeniable. And for the first time since this nightmare began, their little group felt… less fragile.
The three of them gathered around the small campfire later that evening. Mizuki was busy sharpening her spears while Senku tinkered with a crude beaker setup, explaining something about testing acid and its compositions. Taiju, meanwhile, ate roasted roots with the enthusiasm of a man who hadn’t tasted food in centuries.
After a long, satisfied sigh, Taiju glanced between the other two. “You know,” he said, “I’m really glad Senku didn’t have to do all this alone. Yamazaki senpai, you must’ve helped him a ton.” Senku didn’t look up from his experiment. “Hah. Don’t get the wrong idea. She’s been surviving just fine without me. I’m the brains, she’s the muscle.” Mizuki smirked at him. “And don’t forget the sarcasm. Can’t survive without that.”
Taiju laughed so hard he nearly choked. “Oh and Ooki kun you can just call me Mizuki.” Taiju beamed and his smile grew. “Then you have to call me Taiju!” Mizuki chuckled at his enthusiasm but nodded.
By the next morning, their little camp was running like a well-oiled machine. Mizuki dropped a pair of rabbits onto the prep-stone, wiping her brow. “Dinner sorted,” she said flatly. “You two just… don’t do something stupid while I’m out and don’t burn the meat. I don’t want charcoal for dinner.”
“Ten billion percent sure my fire-roasting method is flawless,” Senku replied, crouched over a beaker setup he’d balanced on stones. “Unlike Taiju’s foraging.” Taiju stomped over with an armful of green leaves. “I swear these looked edible!”
Senku barely glanced up before flicking one leaf with a finger in Taiju’s pile of herbs. “Congratulations, you’ve collected enough laxatives to wipe out an army. You big oaf.”
Taiju groaned, dumping the pile aside. “Man, survival’s harder than I thought…” Mizuki smirked, sharpening her knife. “Good thing you’re the muscle and not the chef.” “Hey!” Taiju protested, but he grinned anyway.
Senku stood, dusting off his hands. “Enough clowning around. We’ve got real progress to make. To create revival fluid, I need nital, it’s a powerful etching agent. And to make that, I need alcohol.” Mizuki raised a brow. “Alcohol? In the middle of a wilderness?” “Exactly,” Senku said, smirking. Taiju’s eyes lit up. “Alcohol?! I saw some grape vines near the riverbank!” Without waiting, he sprinted off.
Hours later, Taiju returned drenched in sweat, hauling two giant baskets of wild grapes. Mizuki whistled low. “Guess we know who’s responsible for harvest season.” Senku eyed the grapes and gave a short nod. “Not bad, you big oaf. You actually did something useful for once.”
Together, they crushed the grapes in clay pots, the juice sticky on their hands. Taiju hummed cheerfully while stomping on the grapes Mizuki wrinkled her nose at the wine making process. “This smells more like feet than wine,” she muttered. That’s fermentation, Pres,” Senku explained with a grin. “Give it time, and we’ll have alcohol. Primitive, sure, but it’ll do the job.”
They waited days, tending the concoction. It took him a couple of weeks but in the end they made wine. “It’s really wine! Who knew it would be this easy to make with just a few grapes!” Taiju exclaimed watching Senku pour some in two wine glasses he made with clay.
“You sure you don’t want a taste Pres?” “No thank you. I’m good.” Mizuki said thinking back to Taiju stomping on them. They both took a sip, Taiju immediately spat it out. “Oh! Better than I imagined. It’s still ten billion times worse than the worst mass-produced wine..” Senku said while swirling it like some wine tester. “And now an introduction to distilling wine into ethanol!”
“What’s distilling? I don’t get it!” Taiju said as he carried the wine. “ I thought as much. By heating, cooling and letting the wine condense, we raise the relative alcohol content.” Senku explained. Mizuki brought him the clay and bamboo for his distiller and sat back to watch him.
Finally, Senku assembled a crude distiller from clay and bamboo tubes, sealing joints with resin. Mizuki watched the clear liquid drip slowly into a waiting container. “So this… is alcohol?” Senku lifted the jar, the faintest hint of pride in his voice. “Stone World vintage. Fuel for science. With this, we’re one step closer to reviving civilization.”
Taiju sniffed the liquid and gagged. “Smells like paint thinner!” “Which means it’s perfect,” Senku said smugly. But that didn’t last long the distiller broke and the wine spilled all over Senku. Mizuki leaned against the treehouse ladder, arms crossed, watching Senku adjust the clay tubing of the distiller. The faint smell of fermented grapes hung in the humid air.
“Looks like you’re playing house with clay pots,” she remarked. “Planning to host a tea party with all that?” Senku didn’t even glance up. “Tea party, wine cellar, nuclear reactor—it’s all the same process. Just levels of precision.” Mizuki’s lips twitched. “Right. Because rotting grapes in a pot is totally on par with splitting the atom.” “Ten billion percent,” Senku replied smoothly. Taiju, crouched nearby and dutifully fanning the fire under the distiller, raised a hand. “Wait, wait… splitting atoms? Isn’t that, like… bombs?!”
“Don’t worry,” Senku said without missing a beat. “You’d blow yourself up long before I could ever make one.” “Not reassuring!” Taiju yelped. Mizuki chuckled. “Guess we know who won’t be trusted in the lab.” Taiju pouted. “Hey, I brought the grapes! Without me, no wine, no acid, no science!" “Congratulations,” Mizuki said dryly. “You’re officially the Kingdom of Science’s pack mule.” Senku adjusted the tubing, smirking faintly. “Correction: gorilla mule.” “Aw, come on!” Taiju groaned, though his grin betrayed him.
The first drops of clear liquid dripped into the clay cup. Senku leaned close, eyes glinting in triumph. “There it is. Ethanol. The Stone World’s finest vintage.” Mizuki tilted her head. “Looks more like suspicious pond water to me.” Senku swirled the cup like a sommelier and shot her a sidelong look. “Careful, Pres. This ‘suspicious pond water’ is the difference between civilization and staying cavemen forever.”
She raised an eyebrow. “Bold of you to assume I mind being a caveman if it means less of your smug lectures.” Senku’s smirk widened. “Tch. Don’t get cocky. You’d be bored out of your mind without me.” Mizuki’s silence was deliberate but the faint flush on her face as she turned back to weaving baskets. Taiju, oblivious as ever, piped up. “So… uh… can we drink it?” Both Senku and Mizuki snapped in unison. “Absolutely not!” Taiju jumped. “…Geez, fine! No need to gang up on me…” Senku snorted, Mizuki shook her head, and for a fleeting second, the three of them laughed together, the sound carrying into the stone-still forest.
The acrid scent of alcohol clung to the air. Senku crouched low over a row of clay flasks, hands stained from charcoal and soil, eyes burning with exhaustion. Drops of clear liquid dripped into a jar, precious ethanol, the fruit of weeks of labor. “Step one, complete,” he muttered, voice hoarse but steady. “Now… mix it with nitric acid. Nital. Humanity’s comeback ticket.”
Mizuki stood a few paces back, arms crossed, watching. Even from here she could see the tightness in his jaw, the obsessive gleam in his eyes. “Careful, Ishigami. You’re one wrong move away from blowing up your eyebrows.” Senku smirked faintly. “One wrong move away from blowing up civilization, you mean.”
Taiju, fanning the fire with both arms like a human bellows, laughed nervously. “Blowing up eyebrows sounds bad enough to me…” Senku ignored them both, focused entirely on the task. He tilted the flask, ethanol dripping into the acid. The three of them leaned in… And nothing happened.
Senku’s shoulders stiffened. He adjusted ratios, swirled again. Still no reaction. Mizuki frowned. “…Not exactly bubbling like it’s supposed to, huh?” Senku snapped before he realized it. “Of course it’s not! Do you think I don’t know that?!” The clearing went still. Taiju’s hands froze on the firewood. Mizuki’s eyes narrowed, calm but cutting. “We know you know,” she said evenly. “But don’t bite our heads off for it.” Senku’s mouth opened, ready with a retort, but nothing came out. He turned back to his flasks, jaw tight, hands moving with the same machine-like precision.
The silence stretched for hour broken only by the crackle of the fire and the drip of liquid. Finally, at last, the mixture fizzed. A sharp, acrid scent cut through the night as pale liquid swirled in the jar. Senku exhaled, tension sliding from his shoulders. “…There it is. Ten billion percent. We’ve got it.” Taiju whooped, nearly dropping the firewood. “We did it, Senku! This is it, right? We can bring people back?!”
Senku held the jar up to the firelight, the faint glow flickering in his tired eyes. “Now we just need to find the correct ratio for the revival fluid. And..” Senku eyes met Mizuki’s to which she rose an eyebrow. “Sorry about earlier.” It wasn’t flowery. It wasn’t dramatic. But it was Senku, and Mizuki recognized the weight behind it.
The first snow fell quietly, blanketing the forest in white. Breath misted in the morning air, and every sound carried sharper in the cold. Senku didn’t care. He sat hunched over his makeshift workbench, fingers stiff from the chill but steady as he measured out drops of ethanol and nitric acid. “The ratio’s still off,” he muttered, scribbling rough equations with charcoal on the notebook. “If I don’t get the nital concentration just right, revival’s a pipe dream.” His lips were pale from the cold, but his eyes burned brighter than ever.
From the tree line, Mizuki appeared with Taiju in tow, a rabbit hanging from her belt and a bundle of green shoots in her hands. Taiju carried twice as much… though most of it looked questionable at best. “Dinner,” Mizuki announced, dropping the fish near the fire pit. She held up the herbs and started pulling apart Taiju’s bundle, tossing toxic leaves aside and sorting them while Senku confirming if they are edible or not. She doesn’t know a lot of the plants Taiju collected. Mizuki was poking at a pot over the fire to bake it while Taiju was awkwardly repairing a broken wooden bucket for carrying water and Senku is hunched over scribbling formulas and ratios in the notebook.
Taiju who was struggling with the bucket “Why do these things always fall apart?!” Mizuki snickers at him. “Because you hammer them like they’re enemies.” Senku without looking up “Correct. The bucket doesn’t need a beating, it needs precision.”
Taiju pouts at them. “Not everyone’s brain works like yours, Senku!” Senku absentmindedly, still writing “Yeah, and not everyone’s got Taiju’s absurd stamina or Mizuki’s instincts. If I had to haul wood and track food on my own, I’d have frozen and starved months ago.” Both Mizuki and Taiju freeze, staring at him.
Mizuki raises an eyebrow “…Did you just admit you need us?” Taiju grinning ear to ear “He totally did!” Senku finally looks up, smirking as if nothing happened “Don’t flatter yourselves. I just don’t feel like wasting my genius chopping logs or sorting mushrooms. Division of labor. Pure science.” Mizuki amused, but hiding a smile. “Sure. Whatever helps you sleep at night, Senku.” Taiju laughing loudly “It was a compliment! A real one! I heard it!”
Senku grumbling as he goes back to his scribbles “Tch. You two are insufferable.” But the corner of his mouth quirks up just enough for them to catch it and just like that winter was over.
The snow melted into swollen rivers, the bite of frost softened into damp earth, and the forest awoke in cautious song. Buds unfurled on branches, and small animals darted across the undergrowth like they too were testing freedom for the first time in millennia.
At camp, though, the only thing that mattered was the flask in Senku’s hands. He crouched over a makeshift table of stone slabs, eyes shadowed from sleepless nights, yet sharper than ever. Bark scraps and paper lay scattered around him, equations scrawled in jagged charcoal lines, ratios crossed out and rewritten until the surface was black with numbers. His breath came shallow but steady as he lifted the crude container, its liquid glinting faintly in the sunlight.
“This should work…” he muttered, voice low and fierce. Mizuki leaned against a tree nearby arms crossed, but her sharp eyes never left him. Taiju hovered nervously on the other side, fists clenched at his sides, his big frame practically vibrating with hope. “Senku… you’re sure about this?”
“Ten billion percent sure,” Senku replied, stepping forward. “And now we test it.” He crouched before a small sparrow Mizuki had collected over the weeks, its body still trapped in stone, wings folded in eternal silence. Carefully, he tipped the flask, letting a drop of the precious fluid fall across the crack in its petrified shell.
For a moment nothing happened. Senku in frustration kicks a pot walking out of the lab. His eyes stained with frustration and hopelessness.
Crack…
Then a fissure split across the bird’s form with a sound like breaking glass. Feathers quivered. A tiny wing twitched. And with a sharp cry that pierced the forest, the sparrow burst free. Its wings beat furiously, scattering fragments of stone as it launched into the bright spring sky.
Taiju’s roar shook the clearing. “It worked! SENKU, IT REALLY WORKED!” His eyes shone wet, his fists pumping in wild triumph. Even Mizuki, usually calm and sharp-tongued, allowed herself a small, astonished laugh. She followed the bird with her gaze as it soared above them. Happiness and hope flooded them.
Senku’s smirk sharpened into something fierce, victorious. “Humanity’s comeback ticket the revival fluid. No matter what the Era science always triumphs… I’m going to beat fantasy with science. ” He plopped down on the ground finally relaxing after months of intense experiments. “Now we need to decide who we are going to break out first…” He looked at Taiju.
“And since you were the one who got us the grapes” Senku continued, “you get the honor. Who’s the first human?” Taiju’s answer came without hesitation, his voice ringing with conviction. “It’s obvious who I want to revive. Yuzuriha!.”
Senku’s eyes softened in the faintest way before he shrugged. “Figures. Then it’s settled.” Mizuki took the spear, brushing her hair from her face. “I’ll go hunt. If you’re bringing someone back, we’ll need a proper feast.” Her tone was cool, but the quirk of her lips betrayed approval. “Try not to mess it up while I’m gone and don’t forget to follow the trail. I haven’t been able to spot the wolf pack lately so be careful.”
Senku waved her off, already turning toward the forest. “Tch. Don’t worry it’s highly unlikely for us to run into some wild beast.”
The boys moved quickly to Yuzuriha’s statue. She stood half-hidden by vines, her stone form delicate, preserved mid-motion as though time itself had stopped mid-breath. Taiju approached slowly, reverently, his hands trembling as he reached out. His voice broke. “After all this time… Yuzuriha… I’ll finally going to bring you back.”
Senku handed him the revival fluid. But when Taiju’s face froze realization dawned on him. “Senku!! Yuzuriha is naked!!” and Taiju stabs Senku’s eyes. Senku yelped in agony. “The clothes!” Taiju wailed. “The ones Mizuki made for her…I forgot them at camp!”
A silence heavy enough to crush stone followed. Senku pinched the bridge of his nose, tears in his eyes. “Unbelievable. You had one job, gorilla.” Taiju laughed nervously, scratching his head. “We’ll just… carry her back first, right? Dress her, then revive her at camp!”
Senku sighed, but nodded. “Fine. But it’s ten billion percent more effective to just revive her and let her walk instead of carrying her… No one’s going to care if your butt naked or if your dick’s hanging out.” “Yuzuriha does not have a dick!” With painstaking care, Taiju lifted Yuzuriha’s statue and held her close as they began the trek through the forest.
That was when a roar shattered the air.
It rolled through the trees, low and guttural, vibrating in their chests. The underbrush exploded as lions emerged, their golden eyes gleaming with primal ferocity as they stalked closer. “Senku!!” Taiju’s voice cracked in panic as the beasts fanned out, circling.
“Perfect,” Senku muttered, sarcasm never failing even as adrenaline spiked. “Our first revival attempt, and we’re going to get eaten alive.” “Why are these here in Japan? !” Taiju shouted, clutching Yuzuriha’s form as they bolted into the trees. Branches whipped at their faces, roots caught their feet, and the thunder of paws followed close behind. “They only could have come from the zoos! The keepers must’ve turned to stone while the cages were unlocked!” Senku panted as he explained. “With no humans around they must’ve gotten out.. and preyed on all the zoo’s herbivores. Pets throughout the city became an all you can eat buffet.”
They ran through the wilderness as the pack of lions close in on them. “In this stone world 3700 years later… the ones at the top of the food chain… aren’t humans!” Both Taiju and Senku ran as fast as they could. “Why haven’t the lions attacked us yet?” Taiju asked panting. “Probably because they haven’t seen a couple of weird bipedal creatures before. They’re being cautious. Our only hope are the spears and shields back in camp and the Pres… if she was here we might have a slight chance…. but that’s a crazy far distance to run her location. This game was stacked against us from the very start!”
Taiju notices that Senku was slowing down and his eyes crinkled lips pressed tightly as he made up his mind. He throws Yuzuriha’s statue to Senku who barely managed to catch her almost falling down. Taiju, arms spread ready to face his impending doom, eyes filled with resolve as he stood his ground. “If its gotta come to this… I’ll protect you! With your scientific mind, you’re Humanity’s last, best hope. I can’t let you die here, Senku!”
“NO!” Senku yelled voice filled with pain. “ I never seen you throw a single punch since elementary school! Your selling point is your physical strength bot your fighting. Think rationally! I use my brain and you use your body, both are indispensable. When we make our move to run… its gotta be both of us!” Taiju understood the weight behind his words, he picked up Yuzuriha from Senku and ran with him. “Senku! If we really can’t shake them off… there might be a way!”
Senku who was now running on sheer willpower alone followed Taiju as he made a detour. “ I found this guy on the first day when Mizuki and I were out foraging…. The strongest primate high schooler… Tsukasa Shishio!!”
They broke into a clearing and froze. Before them loomed a figure frozen in stone. A young man, hair wild, body sculpted like iron, every muscle tensed as though ready to strike even after thousands of years.
Senku’s breath caught, calculation already racing behind his eyes but he didn’t have much time to ponder on it as the roar of the lions got nearby. Senku immediately uncorked the flask of revival fluid and pored it on him. The lions closed in, growls reverberating around them. Taiju’s voice cracked with desperation. “Senku, what do we do?!”
Senku’s mind worked like lightning. Science couldn’t fight predators. But this man could but the depetrification process took some time. His hand tightened on the ax ready to use it.
Crack…
Cracks spider webbed. Stone fractured. A breath shuddered into the clearing deep, powerful, alive. A single eye cracked open. “What’s the situation?” Senku’s eyes narrowed but the lions were closing in on them. “Your entire body is covered in stone fragments. And we got lions incoming at nine and two o’ clock.” Senku said as his eyes never left the beast in front of him. “Okay.” And with a roar louder than the lions, Tsukasa Shishio moved.
His fist lashed out in a blur, faster than thought. Bone shattered with a sickening crack as the nearest lion was hurled to the ground, lifeless. The rest recoiled, snarling, then melted back into the shadows, unwilling to test this new apex predator.
Silence fell.
Tsukasa straightened, his chest rising with steady breaths, his eyes sharp and burning as they fixed on the two boys in front of him. “ I’m ready for a full explanation. Take it nice and slow. And I can make you one promise! You two will never be in danger again. From now on I’ll do the fighting.”
Notes:
OMG did you guys see the latest episode! Stanley... he almost made me cry.. I know what happens next but damn it hits different when you see it.
Chapter 6: Chapter 6
Summary:
Tsukasa’s awake now. The plot moves on... tension and mistrust blooms. Clash of ideology. Lines drawn. On a light note Yuzuriha’s awake!
Notes:
(See the end of the chapter for notes.)
Chapter Text
By the time the three of them returned, it was mid day. Taiju carried Yuzuriha’s statue with both arms, his legs wobbling from all the running but his grin wide and proud. Senku walked beside him panting but calm as ever despite the near-death sprint through the forest. Behind them trailed Tsukasa Shishio, his long hair catching the sunlight as if he were a warrior stepping out of a legend.
Mizuki, crouched over the fire pit, looked up sharply when she heard their approach. She had already skinned and dressed the deer she’d hunted, her hair pulled back in a bun as she prepped for lunch. But when her eyes landed on them and the imposing stranger at their side, her brows furrowed. “What happened?” she asked flatly.
Taiju nearly dropped Yuzuriha in his rush to answer. “M-MIZUKI! You won’t believe it!! we were carrying Yuzuriha back when these HUGE lions jumped out of nowhere! I thought we were dead meat, but then we ran like crazy and we had no chance but to fight so… WE REVIVED HIM!” He jabbed his elbow toward Tsukasa, his booming voice echoing into the clearing. “And he punched one of them so hard it was like BAM! The lion went flying!”
Mizuki’s lips parted slightly. She blinked, then looked at Tsukasa properly for the first time. She knows him, of course, who hasn’t. She had seen some of his matches. “Ah.” Taiju realized his mistake and quickly stepped aside, shifting Yuzuriha to one arm. “This is Tsukasa Shishio, the strongest high-school primate and the guy who saved our lives. Tsukasa, this is Mizuki. She’s been with us since the beginning.” Tsukasa inclined his head, his expression softening. His voice came low and smooth, far gentler than his appearance suggested. “It’s an honor, Mizuki.” Heat prickled across her cheeks before she could stop it. She glanced away quickly, feigning interest in the flames. “Right… honor’s mine.” With a slight bow. From the corner of her eye, she caught Senku watching her. He rolled his eyes, muttering something under his breath. She ignored him.
Tsukasa tilted his head, his gaze sharpening as it lingered on her face. “Strange…” he murmured. “Have we met before? Your face feels… familiar.” Mizuki stiffened. For the briefest moment but then she forced a laugh, casual, dismissive. “Maybe at some tournament years ago. I used to go there a lot.” Tsukasa’s brows furrowed, his eyes narrowing slightly, like a predator sensing something hidden just out of reach. For a long moment, the sun light reflected in his sharp gaze as if he were searching her for an answer she refused to give.
Finally, he let it go. His expression eased back into calm composure, though his silence carried weight. Senku noticed the unspoken exchange but didn’t comment, though the corner of his mouth twitched with quiet curiosity.
The fire crackled between them, the smell of roasted meat beginning to fill the camp. It didn’t take long for Tsukasa to prove his worth. While Taiju returned proudly with armfuls of nuts and wild greens, and Mizuki dragged back bundles of dry firewood strapped over her shoulders, Tsukasa would stride into camp with a deer slung over his back as if it weighed nothing. On other days it was a net full of river fish, or a cluster of wild birds strung together neatly by the legs.
Even Mizuki, who prided herself on her hunting skills, had to admit silently, that his precision was frightening. She could track, she could strike from a distance, but Tsukasa? He moved like the forest itself bent to his will. Taiju cheered every time. “Tsukasa, you’re AMAZING! We’ll never go hungry again!”
Senku, arranging scraps of woven grass and spare cloth into something resembling bedding for their newest revival, only snorted. “Hunting prowess of the Pres was fine but this guy is on a whole another level.” Still, even he didn’t complain when Tsukasa’s kills kept their stomachs full.
Every evening, when the four of them gathered around the fire, Mizuki felt it, that steady, searching gaze. Tsukasa’s eyes, kind on the surface, always seemed to linger on her a little too long. Trying figure her out. He didn’t say anything outright, but the weight of his attention pressed against her skin like a hand she couldn’t shake off. She met his gaze once, twice, and forced a cool smile before looking away. After that, she ignored it entirely. Or tried to, because no matter how much she brushed it off, she knew he was trying to place her. Trying to peel back something she wasn’t ready to explain.
That night, after they’d eaten and Taiju was already snoring loud enough to shake the tree branches, Mizuki stood abruptly. She slung her cloak around her, grabbed her blanket, and made for the lab Senku had built.
“I’m sleeping in there from now on.” she said casually, though her tone was sharper than usual. Taiju cracked an eye open, confused. “Eh? Why?” Mizuki’s lips twitched. “I don’t feel like sleeping in a room with three boys. Don’t take it personally.” Tsukasa’s eyes flicked up at her again, quiet and unreadable. Senku leaned back, brows knitting slightly as he studied her. She wasn’t usually this abrupt, not even when Taiju’s snoring woke her up sometimes. He opened his mouth, but closed it again just as quickly. Whatever was bothering her, she wasn’t about to explain it now. “…Suit yourself,” he muttered instead, turning back to his half-finished bedding.
Mizuki gave a small nod, her expression unreadable, before disappearing into the lab. Senku’s gaze lingered on the closed door, crimson eyes thoughtful. He didn’t press her for answers. But the crease in his brow deepened, and he filed her reaction away in silence.
The fire crackled. Tsukasa’s eyes narrowed ever so slightly. And in the quiet of the Stone World night, unease settled into the camp like a second shadow.
The morning sun filtered through the branches as Senku stood near the fire pit, arms crossed, eyes glinting with calculation. He had been silent all breakfast, thinking. Finally, he looked up at the others. “It’s time,” he said simply. “We’ve scraped by long enough. If we’re going to expand the Kingdom of Science, we need to secure more materials.” Taiju, chewing loudly on a roasted root, perked up. “Ooh!! So what do we need?!” Senku smirked. “Good question, big oaf. Think about it. Something versatile. Something that can be used in a dozen ways… what do you think it is?”
Taiju slammed a fist into his palm, eyes lighting up. “Easy. A smartphone!” Senku dragged a hand down his face. “…Sometimes I wonder how you even breathe on your own.” Mizuki snorted into her hand.
Straightening, Senku answered his own question. “Calcium carbonate. In other words, chalk, limestone, seashells. It’s a fundamental material with four insanely useful applications.”
Mizuki raised a brow. “Didn’t we already go through this whole calcium-carbonate-is-king lecture before?” “Yeah,” Senku admitted, “but we ran out. Science doesn’t exactly run on thin air, Pres. We need to stockpile more.” Senku explained the first use Agricultural which they would start once they have more man power. And second is cement, we need that to build a better kiln for our pottery.
Taiju slapped his chest proudly. “Got it! Leave it to me, I’ll carry as many seashells as you want!” Senku jabbed a finger at him. “Exactly. Your horsepower finally put to use.” He turned toward Mizuki next. “You too. The more shells we haul, the better.” Mizuki frowned, folding her arms. “I’d rather drag firewood than dig through the beach like a crab.”
Senku tilted his head, smirking slyly. “The third use Soap! Ten billion percent sure I could whip up different varieties of soap if we stock up enough. Fancy fragments, maybe even scented. Not that it’d matter to someone like you, of course.” Mizuki narrowed her eyes. “Wow. Bribing me with personal hygiene. Touché, Ishigami.” Still, she slung a basket across her back and stood. “Fine. You better keep your end of the deal.” “Good enough.” Senku said. Taiju cheered, already jogging ahead toward the trail. “To the ocean we go!” With Mizuki sighing but following, the two disappeared down the path, their voices fading among the trees.
That left only Senku and Tsukasa in camp. The scientist crouched by his lab, sketching diagrams for the kiln into the dirt with a stick. Tsukasa, quiet as ever, sat nearby sharpening a spear he’d fashioned. The silence stretched until at last, Tsukasa spoke. “Senku, you are… an incredible man. I’ve never met anyone quite as capable as you. You have my deepest respect. ” His tone was calm, almost thoughtful.
Senku looked at him. “A man who’d praise another man to his face is either flirting or scheming.” Tsukasa in a calm composed voice. “Don’t be like that. I didn’t mean anything more by it. I’m convinced that you’ll really be able to create modern civilization from nothing. Yeah. That’s all I was thinking, really.” He said as he waked into the forest spear in hand. Senku’s eyes narrowed, suspicion crept in. Something in his mind clicked. He chuckled to himself. ‘The Pres sure has a crazy intuition with people. She doesn’t trust Tsukasa either from the very start.’ But Senku wasn’t a fool either. The shift was subtle, but it was there… a crack in the facades, like a shadow slipping through sunlight. Senku’s smirk returned, though his eyes narrowed slightly to where Tsukasa left.
The forest thinned out into salty air and the rhythmic crash of waves. The sea stretched endlessly before them, sunlight glittering across its surface like broken glass.
Taiju let out a cheer so loud that a flock of gulls scattered from the rocks. “THE OCEAN! We made it! Man, it’s been so long since I’ve seen the sea! It feels so great!” Mizuki shaded her eyes with one hand, unimpressed. “You make it sound like you grew up in a desert or something. It’s just water.” “Not just water!” Taiju bent down immediately, scooping up a handful of shells from the surf. “Look! Seashells! Senku’s calcium-whatever! I found it first try!” Mizuki crouched beside him, picking up a shell and turning it over. “Wow. You managed to identify a seashell as… a seashell. Truly, your genius knows no bounds.” “Hey! I’m trying here!” Taiju pouted but still grinned, arms already filling with shells. “See? This is teamwork! You find the firewood, I find the food, Tsukasa hunts, Senku builds science stuff. We’re unstoppable!”
Mizuki smirked faintly, brushing sand from her fingers. “Unstoppable, except for when you confuse poison ivy for lettuce.” “That was one time!” “Three.” Taiju groaned dramatically, which only made her chuckle under her breath.
For hours they combed the beach. Taiju waded into the shallows, splashing water everywhere as he grabbed larger chunks of shell from the seabed. Mizuki stayed closer to shore, her sharp eyes scanning for seashells buried in the sand.
At one point she lifted a particularly large spiral shell, holding it up with mock seriousness. “Maybe I’ll just turn this into a horn and summon crabs to fight for me. Better use than lugging it back.” Taiju laughed so hard he nearly dropped his bundle. “Pfft... Mizuki the Crab Queen! I can see it!” “Keep laughing and I’ll test it on you first,” she warned, though her lips twitched.
By the time the sun dipped lower, they had stacked a mound of shells into the crude baskets. Taiju wiped sweat from his brow, satisfied. “Senku’s gonna love this. We’ll have more calcium-carbonate-whatever than he can handle!” Mizuki flexed her hands, brushing off sand. “Good. Let’s head back before the sun goes down.”
As they started the trek back through the forest, Mizuki slowed. She felt it again that prickling sensation of being watched. When she glanced back, she didn’t see anything. Mizuki looked away calming down her nerves. ‘It’s probably my paranoia.’ “Come on, Taiju,” she called, picking up her pace. “Let’s get this over with before you trip and smash all the shells.” Taiju yelped. “I won’t!” He scrambled to catch up, shells clinking in his arms.
Behind them, Tsukasa hidden under the thick trees continued to walk in silence, his thoughts his own.
The following morning, the four of them made their way back to the ocean. The tide had retreated, leaving the sand damp and scattered with broken shells. “Back to work!” Taiju cheered, already rolling up his sleeves. He plunged into the wet sand and began scooping up handfuls of seashells. “We’ll collect so many this time, Senku’ll have to build a warehouse just to store them!”
Mizuki followed at a calmer pace, smirking as she stooped to pick out shells. “Or we could just gather carefully instead of digging like a mole. But no, you go ahead and wreck your back. I’ll handle quality over quantity.” “Quality AND quantity!” Taiju shot back, puffing his chest out. Mizuki snorted. “Sure, big guy. Keep telling yourself that.” But seeing Taiju being this happy for doing little things made her happy. ‘He’s like a golden retriever on steroids.’ She thought chuckling to herself.
Senku rolled his eyes from where he was setting up a campfire. “Idiots, both of you. Just don’t come back empty-handed.”
Meanwhile, Tsukasa strode into the shallow surf, spear in hand. His movements were smooth, almost too graceful. Within minutes he emerged with a fat fish skewered cleanly through the middle. Without a word, he passed it to Senku, who began preparing it for smoking over the fire.
By noon, the fish was ready, its smoky aroma filling the salty air. They sat around the fire pit to eat. Taiju stuffed his mouth full, talking through bites. “This is amazing! Tsukasa, you’re incredible! I couldn’t spear a fish like that if my life depended on it!” “Not without skewering yourself too,” Mizuki teased, smirking. “You’d end up as fish bait.”
“Wha.. hey! I wouldn’t!” Taiju whined, cheeks puffed with food. Senku snorted. Mizuki chuckled. They laughed together, the sound echoing across the empty beach.
But Tsukasa didn’t join in. He sat quietly, eyes calm, watching the three of them interact as if memorizing every detail. His expression was unreadable. “Hey Senku! What’s the fourth use for the sea shells?” Taiju asked while munching on the fish. Senku in a flat dry voice. “No. Just three. Didn’t I say three?” Mizuki’s eyes narrowed slightly but she didn’t say anything or show any outward indication about his belated lie. “Wahaha! Is that right? Guess a bad memory’s part of my weak mind!” Taiju laughed it out.
When Taiju and Mizuki eventually wandered farther down the shore to resume gathering, the laughter faded with them, leaving only the crash of waves. Senku remained by the fire, watching them. Tsukasa finally broke his silence. “Senku,” he said evenly, “do you really intend to revive everyone?” Senku didn’t look up. “That’s the plan. Civilization doesn’t work piecemeal. Humanity’s strength is in the whole package.” Tsukasa’s brows furrowed, his tone steady but heavier now. “That includes the corrupt. The greedy. The kind of adults who crushed the weak underfoot in the old world. You’d bring them back too?”
Senku smirked faintly. “Ten billion percent. Because even the worst scum are part of the ecosystem. Medicine, knowledge, culture.. none of that comes from a handful of kids playing caveman. We need everyone.” Tsukasa’s hand tightened on his spear. His voice dropped, softer but edged. “Long ago, there was a poor boy. He wanted to make a necklace of shells... for his ailing sister. The sister loved tales of the mermaid princess, you see.” Tsukasa said as he walked towards a statue in the sea.
Senku finally glanced up, silent but listening. “He was beaten,” Tsukasa continued, eyes shadowed. “By a grown man who claimed the shells were part of his property. Beaten for trying to comfort his dying sister, in the end the boy was never able to make his little sister a mermaid princess. That’s the world adults created. Greed. Ownership. Oppression.”
He looked directly at Senku now, voice steady. “The youth are innocent. Pure. If we only revive them, we can build a world without corruption. A paradise free from the poison of the past.”
Senku rose slowly to his feet, meeting Tsukasa’s gaze head-on. “That’s your fantasy. But humanity’s strength isn’t purity, it’s knowledge. Experience. Progress, bought by every generation, good and bad. You can’t cherry-pick humanity and call it paradise.”
For the first time, Tsukasa’s gentle expression hardened. He turned abruptly leg swinging at the stone statue breaking it. The sound echoed like thunder. The head rolled toward Senku.
Senku’s eyes widened. “You know what you did, yeah? Tsukasa.. that right there was a human you just killed.” Senku’s voice was steady but on the inside his mind raced. “I’m well aware, but if you are planning to revive every adult. I can’t let that happen.” Tsukasa said while looking at Senku.
“We should only revive the pure hearted youth. We’ll live among nature, where no one can lay claim to anything. This is our chance to purify the human race! Don’t you agree... Senku?” It wasn’t a question. It was a threat. The two stood locked, the ocean wind whipping between them. Tsukasa’s calm eyes met Senku’s unflinching glare, two wills colliding like steel against stone. For what felt like hours was just few seconds, neither moved. Senku broke the silence. “Not even one millimeter. I’m excited for mechas and space travel and doraemon. Everything... I’m a technology loving guy and I’m gonna use the power of science to save every last person without exception.”
Tsukasa stared at Senku for a long minutes and turned and walked away. ‘Heh heh Heh... this guy’s serious bad news. An evil dictator would have been ten billion times better than this. But the lions would’ve wiped us out if we hadn’t woken Tsukasa. We really didn’t have a choice....’ Senku smirks to himself but his eyes were strained. ‘He wants to save only young people? I’d better not do anything crazy like letting him figure out the revival fluid formula. That secret is our trump card against Tsukasa.’
The camp quieted as the fire burned down to embers. Taiju was the first to knock out, his loud snores echoing through the treehouse like rolling thunder. Mizuki lay in the small lab below, staring at the roof beams with tired but restless eyes. Sleep wouldn’t come. Not since Tsukasa stepped foot in the camp. She noticed the tension between Senku and Tsukasa, she hoped it was nothing too serious. Above, Senku lay still, listening. Every so often, he cracked one eye open, scanning the shadows. Eventually, when he was certain Taiju’s snores masked any sound, he eased himself upright. Careful. Slow. He climbed down from the treehouse, feet silent on the rope ladder.
The night air was cool and damp, the forest alive with insects and the distant crash of waves. Senku crouched near the lab, gathering sticks, sinew, and scraps of carved wood he’d stashed away. His hands worked quickly, piecing together the curved frame of a weapon, an early-model crossbow. His jaw was tight, his eyes sharp, every movement deliberate. But he wasn’t as quiet as he thought.
From the lab, Mizuki’s ears caught the faint scrape of wood. Her body tensed instantly, every muscle coiled. Slowly, she slipped from her bedding, creeping toward the sound with a dagger in hand. When she rounded the corner and saw the familiar silhouette bent over his work, she exhaled, shoulders loosening. “It’s just you,” she whispered.
Senku froze for a split second, then turned. When he recognized her, his own shoulders dropped. He didn’t say anything as he continued his work. She stepped closer, slipping the dagger back into its sheath. Her eyes flicked down to the half-finished crossbow. She didn’t comment right away. Instead, she sat beside him in the dirt, watching in silence as his clever hands tightened the twine string.
The quiet stretched between them until Mizuki finally broke it. “…You don’t trust him.” Senku didn’t answer immediately. His hands kept working, pulling knots tight, adjusting the angle. Finally, he muttered, “This is just insurance. Last resort. Nothing more.”
Mizuki studied his face, the way his usual cocky smirk was absent, replaced by grim focus. “At first, I wanted to trust Tsukasa,” she admitted softly. “He saved you guys. He hunts. He smiles kindly enough. But… something’s always been off. I told myself it was because we’re strangers and I don’t know him well. I tried to be open-minded.” She lowered her eyes. “But no matter how I looked at him, I couldn’t… not entirely.”
Senku gave a low chuckle, though there was no humor in it. “Heh. Let’s hope your instincts are garbage, Pres. Because the last thing I want is to make an enemy out of Tsukasa.”
She glanced at him, catching the flicker of unease he tried to bury behind logic. She didn’t press further. The crackle of the dying fire and the faint twang of bowstring being tested filled the silence. ‘He’s worried...’
In the Treehouse
Above them, Taiju snored on, oblivious. But Tsukasa was awake. He lay perfectly still on his bedding, eyes open, staring at the empty space where Senku should have been. His expression was calm, unreadable, but his gaze never wavered from that spot. The forest sang its lullaby outside, but inside the treehouse, the air was heavy, thick with quiet tension.
The sun broke through the canopy, spilling gold across the camp. Senku crouched over a clay pot, carefully stirring the creamy mixture he’d promised Mizuki... primitive scented soap. His sharp eyes were narrowed, attention fixed as the fat and ash thickened together.
Nearby, Mizuki knelt by the fire, turning skewers of sizzling rabbit meat. The smell carried through the clearing, her focus steady but her ears tuned for every sound. Tsukasa sat apart from them, a picture of calm strength. His spear scraped rhythmically against stone as he sharpened the blade to a lethal edge. Sparks flared now and then, glinting in his unreadable eyes.
The quiet broke in a thunderclap of Taiju’s voice. “SEEEENKU!! MIZUKI!!” He burst into the clearing, grinning from ear to ear, holding the flask of revival fluid high above his head like a trophy. “It’s time! Time to revive Yuzuriha!!” Senku’s entire body froze. His eyes snapped wide, horror flashing across his face before he shoved it down, masking it under a sharp, cool smirk.
In two quick strides he snatched the flask from Taiju’s hands. He tilted it against the light, his voice steady despite the pit in his stomach growing. “Tch. Idiot. This isn’t enough to do the job.” Taiju’s grin fell into panic. “Wha?! Not enough?! Then, I’ll go get more! Right now!” He turned on his heel to sprint off, but Tsukasa’s deep voice cut through the air like a blade. “No. I’ll go.”
All eyes turned to him. Tsukasa’s expression was calm, even kind, but there was a steel edge in his gaze. “Tell me where this cave is, Taiju. I’ll collect what we need.” Taiju hesitated for a second but trusting too easily, he pointed in the direction of the cave and explained its location. Without another word, Tsukasa surged to his feet and disappeared into the trees, his stride powerful and swift.
The moment he was gone, Senku moved. He knelt low over his workbench, hands a blur as he mixed fresh ethanol into the precious nitric acid Taiju bought, every motion precise, urgent. His jaw clenched tight, mind racing. “Senku, what’s wrong?” Taiju asked, confused.
Mizuki was already moving. She shoved food and tools into bags, her voice brisk, sharp as flint. “Tsukasa isn’t what he seems, Taiju. We don’t have time to explain.. just trust us.” Taiju blinked, eyes wide. He didn’t understand, not fully. But he looked between them Senku’s cold focus, Mizuki’s urgency and nodded. “Alright. I’ll trust you.”
Senku’s hands didn’t stop moving until the liquid shimmered, the formula perfected at last. He pressed the finished flask into Taiju’s hand, then crossed the clearing to help Mizuki pack their hidden essentials. “We’ve got one shot at this,” Senku muttered. Taiju, heart pounding, turned to Yuzuriha’s statue. His hands trembled as he tipped the flask carefully, trying to pour just a few drops.
Senku snapped. “Don’t half-ass it, you big oaf! Pour it all, evenly every drop!” Taiju flinched, then obeyed, dousing the statue completely. For a breathless moment, nothing happened. Then cracks spider webbed across the stone. Light glimmered, the sound of breaking rock sharp in the morning air. And then Yuzuriha gasped, flesh and color returning as the petrification fell away.
“Ah!” Taiju lunged forward, catching her before she could collapse. His arms wrapped around her, eyes filling with tears. “Yuzuriha! You’re awake! You’re really awake!” She blinked groggily, then looked up at him with wide, shining eyes. “…Taiju?”
Mizuki, crouched beside the fire, pressed a hand to her mouth, a smile tugging at her lips. “Oh, they are so cute together.” She was fangirling. Senku rolled his eyes. “Tch. Save the romance novel crap for later. We don’t have time.” Taiju looked up, still cradling Yuzuriha, confusion flickering in his gaze. But before anyone could speak, The underbrush rustled violently. Heavy footsteps pounded closer. Tsukasa burst back into the clearing, his chest heaving, eyes sharp and glittering with knowledge.
Senku’s eyes narrowed immediately. In Tsukasa’s clenched fist glittered sharp shards of stone fragments of once-living people. Senku wasn’t the only one who noticed. Taiju’s grin froze, realization slamming into him like a hammer. “No… You didn’t...” His voice broke. “You destroyed them!” He lunged forward, fists trembling, planting himself in Tsukasa’s path. “Stop! You can hit me as much as you want, punch me into the ground but don’t break any more statues!” Tsukasa’s calm smile didn’t waver. “That doesn’t sound like a fair deal, Taiju. If I spare your life, then what of the future?” His eyes sharpened, voice low and dangerous. “Senku. Tell me the formula for the revival fluid. Now.” The air in the clearing grew heavy, the crackle of the fire the only sound. Senku didn’t answer. His lips pressed into a thin line, his gaze sharp and calculating. “What if I kill the girl you just revived.” Tsukasa threatened.
Taiju moved first, spreading his arms wide, shielding his friends. “If you want to hurt them, you’ll have to go through me!” Mizuki stepped forward too, dagger drawn, her stance steady despite the tremor in her chest. “And through me.” Her voice was sharp, a warning wrapped in the spear she held. ‘I know I’m no match for Tsukasa. But if he ever lay a hand on my friends... I’ll never forgive him. I’ll hunt him down to my last breath, even if it kills me.’ Her eyes locked on his, unwavering. ‘Senku, Taiju, Yuzuriha... they’re mine to protect. Even though I didn’t have that many interactions with Yuzuriha, she’s my friend now.’
For a heartbeat, silence fell. Tsukasa’s brows furrowed as he studied her. Eyes widened and his smirk grew as recognition flooded in. “those eyes... Your the blessed moon of the Yamazaki clan... ” he murmured at last. Mizuki didn’t show any outward reaction while Senku, Taiju and Yuzuriha stared dumbfounded at them.
Then, without warning, his leg lashed out. The kick slammed into Taiju’s chest like a battering ram. He staggered back, coughing, but astonishingly did not fall. Tsukasa’s eyes widened slightly. “You can withstand that? Impressive no one has took a hit from me and stood their ground.”
Senku seized the moment. He raised the crossbow he’d been crafting in secret and loosed an arrow. It sliced through the air with a sharp hiss... Tsukasa caught it mid-flight with one hand. His grip splintered the shaft, and he slammed the broken arrow into the dirt with frightening ease.
Mizuki stepped forward again, dagger raised, her hands steady even as her heart thundered. “Don’t.” Her voice dropped into a low, dangerous tone. “One step closer, and I swear, you’ll regret it.” For the first time, Tsukasa hesitated for a second. The intensity of her resolve was undeniable. His gaze lingered on her before sliding back to Senku, unreadable.
Behind them, Taiju’s strength finally gave out. His knees buckled, and he collapsed with a thud, unconscious. “Idiot gorilla, finally feeling it, huh?” Senku muttered, crouching beside him. He checked Taiju’s pulse, lips tightening. “He’s seriously bleeding. He’ll need several days of bed rest after this.” Yuzuriha was panicking on the side not knowing what to do, but Mizuki’s eyes never left Tsukasa.
Tsukasa lowered his hand from the shattered arrow, his voice calm once more. “There is no need to fight among friends. I’ll do what I’m meant to do here... so don’t try to get in my way!.” And with that, he turned, disappearing into the forest. The sound of his footsteps faded, leaving only silence and the suffocating weight of what had just happened.
The tension broke all at once. Yuzuriha dropped to her knees beside Taiju, eyes still wide with panic. “Taiju! Please... wake up!” Senku picked up the arrow. “My crossbow fired this at over 200 km per hour. And he grabbed it, like BAM... what a monster. He’s virtually invincible in this age. There is only one way left to stop Tsukasa...” He met Mizuki’s eyes. “We’ll have to turn the clock forward.” “Smartphones..?” Yuzuriha chimed in nervously. “You guys really like Smartphones huh?” Senku said pinching the bridge of his nose. “Wow... they are made for each other.” Mizuki said as she walked to the group.
Senku made a shape with his hand as his smirk grew wide. “I’m talking firearms. We’ve gotta make gunpowder!! Heh Heh Heh... that means we’ve gotta take one giant warp forward of 1,998,700 years. Get excited!”
Senku nudged Taiju’s side with his boot, hard enough to jolt him. “Oi, big oaf, it’s time to set off on our journey to make gunpowder.” Taiju stirred with a groan, eyelids fluttering. “Ugh… Senku? Mizuki? Yuzuriha…?” Yuzuriha panics more at Senku’s kicking. “Huh?! Didn’t you say Taiju needed days of bed rest?”. Senku just waved her off. Senku straightened, his expression hard and sharp. “We’ve got two options now. One, cut our losses you three run for safety, and I’ll deal with Tsukasa myself Or two stay and fight.” Even though he had a plan, he still wanted to give them a chance to escape..
Mizuki slid her dagger back into its sheath, her lips curving into a fierce smirk. “Like there’s even a choice. We’re not running. Not without you.” Senku’s smirk mirrored hers. “Right! Of course not! We are going to fight!” Taiju shouted with Yuzuriha nodding.
And so they moved.
The four of them tore through their camp, scattering false trails, overturning tools, and leaving the site in chaos an illusion of panic and flight. Senku orchestrated every move with precision, Mizuki quick to follow his lead, Taiju doing his best, and Yuzuriha lending her delicate hands where she could. In minutes, the Kingdom of Science’s first base looked like it had been ransacked. The months of work on the tree house was destroyed. They packed their bags, Taiju carrying more than the three of them. Mizuki took some spears and her training shinai and strapped it on her back. Once everything was ready, Senku lead them to their new destination... Mt. Hakone.
Notes:
The term blessed moon is a word play of Mizuki’s name which means beautiful moon in Japanese. I wanted to have a cool epithet for Mizuki like Tsukasa’s 'the strongest high-school primate.'
I might change that epithet in the future if I find anything cool but till then we are stuck with this name.
Hope you guys like this chapter.
RubyGemGreen on Chapter 1 Fri 01 Aug 2025 06:01PM UTC
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dragonqueen044 on Chapter 1 Sat 02 Aug 2025 04:12AM UTC
Last Edited Sat 02 Aug 2025 04:28AM UTC
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RubyGemGreen on Chapter 2 Thu 14 Aug 2025 08:22PM UTC
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RubyGemGreen on Chapter 4 Wed 27 Aug 2025 05:10PM UTC
Last Edited Wed 27 Aug 2025 05:31PM UTC
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dragonqueen044 on Chapter 4 Sat 30 Aug 2025 05:56PM UTC
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RubyGemGreen on Chapter 5 Mon 08 Sep 2025 06:02AM UTC
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dragonqueen044 on Chapter 5 Mon 08 Sep 2025 08:26AM UTC
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